Just Don't Walk Away
by ncislove
Summary: He was tired of them all walking away. A Gibbs/Shannon, Gibbs/Abby fic.
1. Chapter 1

So I've been sitting on this fic for some time, trying to decide on when/where to end it, and finally I've gotten tired of playing around with it. I've still got some edits later on, but it's long (past 30K) and came around after the whole Gibbs wakes up to Shannon/wakes up on the couch. As I said with my first 'Shannon is alive' fic – I don't really like them, but I just adore her character and after that scene this wouldn't let me go.

This is my take on the whole drug cartel/mexico bit (mine starts with Abby back from Mexico – you can assume her trip down there with McGee is the same) and then it's different from there. I also have the basic events from 'Mothers Day' AFTER the Mexico stuff, rather than before. Minor details though.

Also, you should all watch Scandal on ABC because Darby Stanchfield (she plays Shannon) is in it, and she's tweeted back to me a couple of times. Love her!

Phew – long authors note. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Something hadn't sat right with him when she left NCIS to visit Mexico and teach at the forensics symposium, but he hadn't been able to put a finger on it until now. She refused to meet his eye as she gave the DNA results to the case they were working. Once she was finished, he sent Tony and Ziva to get the car, and McGee to continue following the bank trail. It wasn't until he was sure they were alone that he finally spoke. "Abbs?"

"Yeah?" Her voice was small, and she kept her gaze on her keyboard.

"I think we need to talk. My place after work?"

She nodded, "yeah, okay."

The rest of the day went by in a blur for the both of them. Gibbs tried to focus on the case at hand, but not knowing _just_ how much Abby knew was eating him up inside.

Abby on the other hand kept busy. She was acutely aware of the lab cameras so she kept her movements calculated as she worked and tried to keep up her usually cheerful disposition. It wasn't easy, but she greeted the rest of the visitors to her lab with enthusiasm and kept her music at an earsplitting level.

She smiled happily to nearly everyone she met in the hall as she made her way up to the squad room, and cheerfully wished Tim, Tony and Ziva a pleasant evening. She held on to her enthusiasm as she turned to Gibbs, but anyone that knew her, knew she was trying not to cry. "We still on for tonight?"

"I'm on my way." Gibbs nodded and switched off his desk lamp. "Go home, everyone. Get some rest."

Abby headed for the elevator and stood quietly in the corner when Gibbs joined her. They were half way to the lobby when he opened his mouth to speak, but Abby interrupted. "Don't. Just… wait."

He nodded and moments later the elevators opened, and they headed out to their cars. "I've got steaks," he offered, otherwise he'd need to stop by the grocery store first.

"I'm not that hungry, so don't worry about me." Abby slid into her car and started the engine. The idea of food made her nauseous and she just wanted to get everything into the air before it choked her. She was aware of him following her the entire way back. Usually he made it back to his place much quicker than she did, but she assumed he stayed behind her to be sure that she didn't back out last minute and drive away.

Abby followed him up the front step and went to sit on the couch while Gibbs made coffee. He brought her a cup and sat down beside her, taking small comfort in the fact that she didn't move away from him.

"I… I know what you did."

Gibbs nodded, but said nothing. If she couldn't look at him the same anymore he would understand. It would hurt, but there wasn't anything he could do to change it and if he thought real hard, he wasn't sure if he'd change things even if he could. But the ball was in her court.

"And I think Alejandro knows too."

Gibbs' head snapped up. "Did he say something… do something to you?"

"No," she sighed and shook her head. "But we both know how you feel about coincidences, Gibbs. The way everything fell into place in Mexico…?"

"Tell me…" He didn't know any of the details except that Pedro's body had been brought back to NCIS and that Abby knew how he died.

"I'll tell you everything. But then you owe me the same." Abby took a deep breath and started from the very beginning, talking about the class and ending on how she had been given the exact evidence needed to convict him. "He looked so smug as he sent me away to test everything here, at NCIS. He's waiting for me to throw you under the bus."

"What's it to him?"

"I was wondering the same thing, so I… I ran a DNA test. Pedro was his father. Alejandro doesn't want to close a cold case, he wants revenge on the person who killed his father, you."

"When-"

"No, Gibbs. Now you tell me everything. I want to know every single detail as to why I risked my career today."

"Your what?"

"Details, Gibbs."

Gibbs frowned and leaned back against the couch. "I was in so much pain… Shan was the only witness in the case and with her out of the picture, Pedro disappeared. I tried for weeks on my own to find out more about him, but no one would talk. Then I got the job at NIS and Franks conveniently left the information out and then granted me a week of vacation with no questions asked."

"Mike knows?"

"He didn't ask questions." Gibbs shrugged. "So I went to Mexico and watched him for a few days, drank myself to sleep each night. Finally I decided to get him on his way to town. I went up to the mountain and waited, first night since they had died that I didn't drink. It was just past 7am when his truck drove by below. I pulled the trigger and that was it." He shuddered at the memory. He had felt such an odd mixture of grief and relief as soon as Pedro's car went off the road.

Abby turned toward him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into an awkward hug. "You know I don't believe in murder, but I… I understand what you did."

Gibbs felt a surge of relief flood through his veins. He hadn't been sure of what to expect, but a hug hadn't even made the list.

"And then what happened?"

"I came back to NIS and tried to move forward with my life. Until recently, I think I've only ever moved sideways." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and wrapped an arm around her to return the hug. "What did you mean about risking your career?"

Abby was silent for a moment as she tried to think of how best to say what she needed to say. Unsure of her voice, she lifted her hands and began to speak with her fingers. _I tampered with the evidence. There is no way to match anything to your sniper rifle. They will never convict you. Ever._

"Abby…" He felt a lump in his throat. Killing Pedro had stayed with him ever since he had pulled the trigger, though over the past few years he had learned to hide it away. But now the idea that she too would carry such a heavy burden hurt him in a way he couldn't describe.

"I had no other option Gibbs. He doesn't want to see you convicted. He wants you south of the border so he can get to you without the risk of running into US law enforcement. Your life is more important than my lab."

"You can't…"

"This stays between us, Gibbs. I can't take it back, I know that. I'm going to still process it officially, and I'm going to call in an outside expert. But there will be no way to link it to you."

"You should have to carry my baggage like this Abbs…. For the rest of your life this will eat at you. There must be something you can-"

"There isn't, but even if I could… just learn to accept it Gibbs." Abby snuggled into his side. "It'll all blow over once I tell Alejandro that it really is a cold case. There won't be anything he can do, he'll go away and we can get back to our lives."

"You really believe that?"

She nodded. "I have to."

They sat quietly together, both of them thinking of the coming days, maybe weeks that this would weigh on their minds. If Alejandro really was Pedro's son, he couldn't imagine the man just dropping it if Abby didn't point him to Gibbs.

"Tell me about them."

"Hmm?" Gibbs was brought out of his thoughts as Abby snuggled impossibly closer.

"Shannon and Kelly, tell me about them." Normally she wouldn't pry, but she figured if she was now almost just as involved as he was, she could ask the tough questions.

"Kelly was a lot like me; stubborn, practical. Even at her young age, she understood how the basement was a sanctuary. She spent a lot of time down there with me."

"You mean you've always hidden in the basement?"

"Basement, garage… always needed a work space. She would do her homework down here while I worked. Shannon loved the stuff I built down there, but she wasn't thrilled with the sawdust Kel and I tracked through the house. But she was more relaxed, let Kelly get away with a lot. Nothing bad, typical little girl stuff."

"And you didn't?" Abby glanced up with a smirk. She had no doubt that Kelly had him wrapped around his finger.

"I s'pose I did some." Gibbs gave a little shrug. "Now when I look back, I wish I'd let her get away with more. Wouldn't have been the end of the world if she'd stayed up and extra half hour to watch TV or had a cookie before dinner."

"You know, it wouldn't have made her love you more, or made you a better dad. You were setting limits that all little girls need. Bedtime was bedtime… no matter how much I wanted an extra 20 minutes. It didn't make me think less of my parents."

Gibbs nodded.

They stayed together on the couch, Gibbs sharing memories of his late wife and daughter, Abby listening intently. Despite the fact that they weren't romantically involved (not because she wasn't interested) there was an intimacy about the evening as he shared things he hadn't shared with anyone. Abby was the first to fall asleep, her head resting on his chest, her hand fisted in the fabric of his shirt. Gibbs debated on carrying her upstairs to his bed, but since he hadn't slept up there in some time, the bed wasn't made. With her warm body curled up to his he decided it wasn't worth it to get up, so he only shifted so they could stretch out, and pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over them.

* * *

Two days later, when Alejandro strolled into the squad room asking how to find Abby, Gibbs was quick to offer to show him. He had to keep his emotions in check, but his hands were in fists where they rested in his pockets as they rode the elevator down.

"That Abby… amazing scientist is she not?" Alejandro asked, a look of smug satisfaction on his face.

"Mmhmm. She knows her way around the lab." Gibbs agreed. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he was out. "This way."

"Abby!" Alejandro greeted, his smile faltering when she looked at him with a smile.

"Hey! I tried getting ahold of you before you flew up here, but I guess I just missed you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I tried the best I could, but… the evidence isn't telling me anything. I've just gotten everything packed up for transfer back to you. Or now that you're here, I could call in a specialist if you think I may have missed something…?" Abby shrugged.

Gibbs watched the exchange, quietly impressed with the way Abby was able to play it off as no big deal, as if this case was just like any other.

"You… you found nothing?"

"No," she said sadly, "I think it's just been too long, one of those cold cases that will taunt you from the shelf. We have a few of those downstairs. So, should I have everything shipped back to Mexico..? I assume you'd like to bury the body again where it was…"

"I… I would like to call someone else in, you don't mind, do you?"

"Oh, of course not," she glanced at Gibbs briefly. "You want someone to come here, or we could ship everything…"

"I would prefer it here. It'll take longer if we ship it and I would rather get things done while I am here."

"I totally understand. Did you have someone to call, or did you want me to make some calls?"

"I'll… I'll call the local agencies in the area." Alejandro stalked out of the lab, his eyes locked on the floor. Over the next two weeks there was a flow of outside forensic specialists in and out of Abby's lab, all looking over the evidence she had, and the results she had come up with. Most had heard of Abby before and couldn't understand why they were called in for a second opinion, but Abby just kept her head up, a smile on her face and soaked in all the compliments on her work. Eventually Alejandro conceded that nothing would be confirmed and he decided to ship everything back to Mexico, wanting to put Pedro back in his final resting place.

As soon as it was confirmed that Alejandro was indeed on a flight back to Mexico, Gibbs showed up in the lab with a black rose.

"Aww, what's this for?"

"You know what it's for."

"In for a penny…" Abby shrugged. "What can I do for you? It's kinda late…" She glanced at the clock on her computer to see it was nearly seven.

"Wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me?"

"Because you feel like you have to make it up to me for… everything?"

Gibbs shook his head, "no, because I want to have dinner with you."

Abby was shocked by the rare, unguarded smile on his face that accompanied the invite and there was no way she could say no. "I can be ready in ten minutes."

"I can wait," Gibbs touched his hand to her cheek and then went to sit at her desk as she cleaned up and switched off her machines for the night.

Gibbs surprised her by taking her somewhere she had never been, it was a low-key, but semi-romantic place just outside of the city. The restaurant was on the darker side with candles on the tables, and they had plenty of privacy. It wasn't the first time they'd gone out to dinner together, but there was a different feeling to this evening, and Abby found her eyes repeatedly drawn to where his hand rested over hers as they chatted.

Although dinner was relaxed, Abby couldn't help but try to figure out _why_ exactly he had asked her out. She knew he would feel guilty for a long time over the fact that she had risked her career for him, but he had said it wasn't the reason for dinner – and she believed him. He was much too… _happy_ for this to be because of his guilt. Every so often she thought that maybe –_ just maybe_ – he felt something more for her, the way she felt for him. He was always physical with her; hugs, kisses to the cheek, etc, but not she felt like he was touching her more often and for longer. If she could only know for sure…. She wasn't interested in ruining their friendship by making a move if he didn't feel the same way.

* * *

As life slowly moved forward, Abby felt more and more secure in what might possibly happen between them. There was no rush to move from friends to lovers, and the slow progression left her feeling more confident in their budding relationship. Dinner together happened more and more frequently – sometimes going out, and cooking together in his kitchen. They spent time together on the weekends, and Gibbs found himself volunteering to help out with her church, helping to fix a railing on the stair case, and even letting the nuns talk him into an evening of bowling.

Although he was more of a home-body when he wasn't on duty, Gibbs found himself enjoying the occasional trip into the marina when the weather was nice, or to a museum when weather kept them indoors.

There was no pressure when they were together, and if the other had plans already, it wasn't a big deal. There was a hint of intimacy when they strolled arm-in-arm through a museum or down the board walk, and it always felt like they were something more when they sat together on the sofa talking about their work week. Every so often Abby felt the urge to just lean in and kiss him, but something held her back.

But then his mother-in-law found herself in the center of their case, and Gibbs pulled away. Abby knew it had nothing to do with her – seeing the way Gibbs tensed the moment Joann's name came up, she knew he was not only dealing with the emotions surrounding their connection, but that it brought back painful memories of his girls' funeral.

Abby knew that he had messed up on purpose to clear her name. He hadn't said it in so many words, but it was obvious – Gibbs never made mistakes when it came to his job, everything he did was calculated.

Slowly they started to spend time together again, though not quite as often, and Gibbs was less willing to go out, instead preferring to share a simple meal and a quiet evening at his place instead. Nearly a month after they had last seen Joann, Gibbs sent Abby on her way after dinner. He had been glad for the company, but suddenly he found himself wanting her in a way he had never thought of before, and it scared him. He knew he had seemed rough and had given her the cold shoulder, but he needed time to think things through before he did something that hurt the both of them.

* * *

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Aww, you're all acting like I'm just letting you get comfortable before smacking you with something big. Would I *ever* do that? ;)

* * *

Abby clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp. This had been a bad idea from the start, but she had been bored - bored and a little drunk and Gibbs had been in a funk ever since his mother-in-law had been involved in that case. She knew that having his mother-in-law around had pulled up some bitter sweet memories and if Gibbs was in a funk there was nothing she wouldn't do to try and make it better. This was why, after an afternoon of crappy romance movies followed by an evening of thrillers, and two bottles of wine later, she was sitting on the floor with her laptop hacking into the computer system of the United States Department of Justice.

It had all started with a movie about a man who was forced to enter the witness protection program after witnessing the murder of a congressman. But instead of relocating, the man had gone off the grid to stay in the area to watch over his family. The movie had been awful, the acting poor and the writing lacked any real imagination, but the idea of the witness protection program had stuck with her through two other movies. She wondered why Shannon and Kelly had only been given simple security detail, and that lead her to do some research on the original case that Shannon had been called on to testify in. The more she read, the wider her eyes grew. This hadn't just been a simple drug transaction that Shannon had stumbled upon; this had been something major, something that would have brought down an entire trade route along the east coast. Even Abby knew they would have given more protection detail than one security guard. "That's not even believable, just one guard? Granted, it was a long time ago, but it's like they were trying to get them… No…" Abby glanced at Bert. "You don't think…?" She got up to close the blinds (just in case) and poured herself another glass of wine before settling back on the floor with her laptop and stuffed hippo.

"No… you're right, Bert. This is 100%, totally and completely illegal. If I'm caught, I promise to make sure Gibbs or Tony or someone provides you a loving home while I'm locked up. I won't force you to suffer my consequences if this falls to pieces." Her hands trembled as she typed in a few comments and then scrolled down the page.

She was surprised that it had been relatively simple, though her security clearance level had helped her past the most difficult obstacles. She was irritated to find that the names weren't in alphabetical order, but rather organized by date. She almost read past Shannon's name, not recognizing the last name Fielding until she thought back to the case and searching into Joann Fielding's past. Kelly wasn't listed, and Abby didn't know if that meant she hadn't survived, or what it meant. But judging by the fact that everyone else listed didn't have anyone listed with them, she wondered if it was just the person that was the actual witness that was listed in the data she had found.

She drained her wine glass and looked at her stuffed hippo. "I don't even know what to do…" She lifted her hand in front of her face to see that she was, indeed, shaking like leaf. She couldn't go to him at… she glanced at the time, two in the morning. Not when she was half drunk. But she was scared that the information would disappear, that somehow the Justice Department would know that she hacked and she wouldn't get in a second time. If she went to Gibbs but had nothing to back it up, she was certain she would lose all respect from him. If he thought she was trying to play some cruel joke, she wasn't sure she could handle that kind of disappointment from him. She loved him more than anything, anyone in the world and if what she had found was real she was going to give him the biggest gift of his life. She would also be ruining any chance she thought she may have had with him, but seeing Gibbs happy was her number one priority. She squared her shoulders and screen capped everything she had found so far, printing them out and making notes on how she had gotten into the program. There wasn't much, and she assumed that there was as little information as possible, but assuming what she had found was real, it was plenty for her to go on.

She closed up for the night, and carried Bert to bed. It wasn't until the dark began to give way to mornings light, that Abby managed a few hours of sleep. She tossed and turned, wondering if the wine had played a cruel trick on her, or if all it took for Gibbs to really be happy again was 40 minutes and some advanced computer skills. By 9am she knew she wasn't going to sleep anymore, so she rolled out of bed and slipped into her robe. Flipping an egg in the pan and buttering a slice of toast, she managed a small breakfast, her stomach too nervous to eat much.

A shower was next on her list, and the whole time she shampooed her hair she wondered how exactly to start her conversation with Gibbs. "Hey boss, guess what? I was hacking into the U.S. Department of Justice's computer system and stumbled upon your dead wife's name on a witness protection program list. Think she might be alive? – Yeah, that'd go over well," Abby said aloud to herself. She didn't realize just how long she stood under the spray until the water ran tepid and she realized she was shivering.

She dressed quickly and pulled her hair into a simple ponytail and then grabbed her laptop. With trembling fingers she followed the same steps as the night before, and each time she was one step closer to finding Shannon's name again, she let out a sigh of relief. As soon as Shannon's name popped up, Abby grabbed her laptop, her purse and keys and headed for her car. She kept the computer up and running (never more thankful for internet on the go as she was now) and checked at every stoplight that she was still connected to the department of Justice.

Gibbs' car was parked out front as she pulled up in front of his house. For a brief moment she had thought about trying to forget everything she had seen, but if this information was correct, if Shannon really was alive, Abby figured she would be headed straight to Hell if she kept them apart. She loved Gibbs more than anyone, and secretly she dreamed of him sweeping her off her feet, but she knew it would never happen. He had failed three marriages, and many more relationships. She knew he at least loved her enough to keep her safe, even if that meant keeping her safe from himself. And there was no way she could ever look him in the eye and tell him she loved him while keeping something so major to herself. Something about _if you love something, set it free… _That was going to be her new mantra.

She gathered her computer, her bag and her courage and headed up the front step.

"Abbs?" The door swung open and Gibbs stood just inside wearing jeans, his red sweatshirt and shoes that had seen their prime long ago. "You alright? You've been sitting in your car for the last ten minutes, I was about to come get you. You see a ghost?"

"Maybe?" She shrugged and stepped past him into the house. She set her laptop on the coffee table after dropping her bag down by the door. Out of habit she started toward the coat rack, but then remembered she hadn't taken the time to grab a jacket.

Gibbs watched her curiously. He had never seen her look so… un-Abby it almost scared him. She was the one he turned too to gain a little balance in his life. If something had her so visibly shaken, there was no doubt that it would affect him as well. "Coffee?"

"No… no time for coffee." She went to the couch and sat down, and then glanced up as she waited for him to join her.

"Going somewhere?" He sat beside her and cocked his head to the side, hoping she would expand on whatever it was that had her so worked up.

"Gibbs," she jumped up to pace in front of the sofa. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you right? Or trick you or anything that would upset you on purpose, right? Be-because I never, ever would and maybe I should've done a little more research on my own, but then I thought that if this was real, then, I don't want you to think I've been holding out, so I-"

"Hey," He reached out and caught her wrist and pulled her back to the couch. "What's got you so worked up? This isn't like you, Abbs. I know you'd never do anything to hurt me, you'd never do anything to hurt anyone." He smiled softly at her and pulled her in for a hug.

There was no easy way for her to start the conversation, so she leaned into his hug, hoping that after it was all said and done he wasn't too angry or upset with her to hug her again – no matter the outcome. "I was watching some movies yesterday, one was about the witness protection program and it got me thinking."

Gibbs hid a smile and nodded. "Oh?" This sounded like something Tony would be better at dealing with than him.

"So I… and this is so off the record, okay? Please don't get me in trouble at work."

"Abby?" He curled his finger under her chin to make her look at him. "Talk."

"So I was doing some searching, which led to a little deeper _searching_…"

"Searching?"

"Maybe hacking."

"Where?"

"The United States Department of Justice."

Gibbs choked. On more than one occasion he'd had her or McGee had into other government servers, usually the FBI where he could convince Fornell to look the other way if they found out. "Why on earth would you want-"

"They run the witness protection program."

"Abby what are you…?" This was so beyond her typical behavior that he didn't know what to expect. She had always been a little out there, but it's what he liked about her. She wasn't afraid of her quirks.

Abby reached for her laptop and checked one last time that Shannon's name was listed before letting it all spill out. "After the case with your mother-in-law, I did a little research because I was curious and then that movie on the witness protection program. And I was thinking of the trial Shannon was a witness in, she would've brought down an entire trade route along the east coast. They never would've just assigned one NIS agent as security to transport her." She took a quick breath and continued, not daring to look at Gibbs. "I hacked into United States Department of Justice and with a little digging, I found this," she turned the computer toward him and risked a glance at him – his face was void of any emotion. "Shannon Fielding was entered into the Witness protection Program on Sunday Feb 25th, 1991." She clicked to another window, a digital copy of the newspaper that showed an image of Shannon and Kelly announcing their death. "That's the same date they were-"

"Killed," Gibbs finished, his eyes locked on the name Shannon Fielding and the word 'active' listed next to her name. "What else do you know?"

"That's…. that's as far as I've gone. I didn't want… not without… What do I do, Gibbs?" She reached out and covered his hand with hers, and relief flooded her body when he didn't pull away or shake her off.

Gibbs sighed. They couldn't be alive, not after all these years. He'd have known it in his gut; they would have contacted him… something. Gibbs scrubbed his hands over his face.

"I'm not trying to mess with you, I promise."

"I know." There was no way that Abby was playing some cruel trick, he could see it in her eyes, the way she was almost crying, waiting for him to say something. He cleared his throat gently, "It's not her. Go home, Abbs. Enjoy the rest of the weekend."

"But Gibbs, what if-"

"No." He shook his head. He wasn't mad at her, but he needed some time alone. The idea that they had been stuck in the witness protection program had crossed his mind once or twice, but they would've given him the option to join his family. There was no way that Shannon would take their daughter and run.

"Gibbs, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, I just…"

"I know." Gibbs stood and pulled Abby up into a hug.

"…I just want you happy." She snuggled into his embrace, relieved that he wasn't mad, but still not convinced that that there was nothing to the fact that there was a Shannon Fielding in the witness protection program.

"And I appreciate that. But go home, stop worrying about me. I'm fine." He reached down for her laptop and closed it without a last look at Shannon's name. Once he was sure she had everything, he walked her to the door. "See you tomorrow," he leaned in with a kiss for her cheek.

He watched her until her car turned out of sight before shutting the door and heading for the basement. It wasn't possible that Shannon was hiding somewhere. She would have reached out to him at some point over the past 18 years, but seeing her name on something so official looking had been a sucker punch to the gut.

* * *

On the drive home Abby decided to abandon the idea of Shannon and maybe Kelly being somewhere in the witness protection program. "It's none of your business, Abigail," she chided. But as soon as she was back in her apartment, all ideas about giving up were out the window.

She had stopped for a Caf-Pow! on the way home and soon she was comfy with her laptop, a note pad and her drink. It took even less time to get back to the forms she had first found and decided to dig deeper. The code was tricky and when she finally managed to open the file for Shannon Fielding, all she found was a bunch of numbers along with what looked like a phone number.

"I don't understand what some of this stuff means, these numbers… they represent something, there must be a key for these. But there is a phone number and…" she ran it through a search program, "and it's an office for the department of justice in the mid-west." She squeezed Bert tightly as she thought about what to do. She thought for a moment and then pulled her cellphone from her pocket. She dialed the number and waited as it rang three times before someone answered.

"My name is Abigail Sciuto from NCIS, if I had questions about someone NIS put under the witness protection program twenty years ago, who would I speak with?... Yes, I understand. Yes, I do have top level clearance," she rattled off her ID number. "I'm looking for information on Shannon Gibbs, though I believe she was entered under her maiden name, Shannon Fielding. Yes… I understand, no… no. Can you confirm that she is in the program and that she is still alive? Yeah, okay… listen. You can help me out here; I just need to know if Shannon and Kelly were successfully relocated under the program? Yes, I will go through the proper channels if I need to contact them directly, but for a case, I need to know if I'm wasting my time looking for them…. Okay, thank you." Abby flipped her phone shut and stared at it in her trembling hands.

* * *

Gibbs had mostly forgotten about Abby's visit the day before and to prove that he wasn't upset with her, he made sure to grab a caf-pow! and a chocolate muffin on his first coffee run to bring to the lab. He was surprised to find the lab still dark (it was almost 10am before he made it down). He left the drink in her fridge and the muffin on her desk and headed back up. "Anyone seen Abby?"

Tony, McGee and Ziva all shook their heads. Usually at least one of them had seen her coming in, but it wasn't unheard of for her to arrive before the rest of them and none of them had a reason to be in the lab yet.

"Ms. Sciuto took a personal day," Director Vance strolled through the office. "I haven't called in a backup because I am hoping for a slow day and I assume Dr. Mallard can help with running a simple DNA or finger print match if needed."

Gibbs gave a little nod and dropped into his chair. He should've known that Abby would have felt guilty for bringing up Shannon and Kelly. He should have known that asking her to leave like that would have only cemented her guilt and despite her brilliant mind, she sometimes needed a little extra reassurance. He decided to work until lunch before paying Abby a visit (with a Caf-Pow!) and hopefully talk her into coming back in for the afternoon. NCIS was always a little off balance without her around. He told Tony he was taking a long lunch, but that he was available by cell if there was an emergency and then headed for the elevator.

He was relieved to find Abby's car parked outside her building, so arms loaded with lunch for the both of them, coffee for him and a Caf-Pow! for her, Gibbs headed up. With his coffee balanced precariously on the lid of her Caf-Pow, Gibbs raised his hand to knock. Just before his knuckles were about to touch her door, he heard Abby yelling inside.

The sound was muffled, but it was clear that there were two people inside. He set the food and drinks aside and reached for his lock picking kit. In less than 30 seconds the door was unlocked and Gibbs pushed his way inside, his gun drawn.

"… You're not exactly in a place to negotiate, Ms. Sciuto."

"I'm not negotiating, I'm telling you- Gibbs?" Abby startled when Gibbs rushed in.

"Whoa, easy man…" The strange man held his hands up and took two steps away from Abby.

"What's going on?"

"Put your gun away, Gibbs. He's not armed."

"I heard you yelling…" He glared at the stranger and put his gun away. "Who are you?"

He pulled out his ID "Lucas Evans, DOJ. Department of Justi-"

"I know what it means."

"I was just leaving…"

"I think that's a good idea."

"No." Abby rushed forward and pushed the door shut and stood in front of it. "This is Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS. The man I was telling you about. Now, either you tell him or I will." She planted her arms firmly across her chest.

"Ms. Sciuto, this wasn't part of our agreement."

"Because there was no agreement. Tell. Him."

"You're looking at some severe trouble if-"

"You threatening her?" Gibbs cut Lucas off and in two steps he was toe to toe with the man, a firm grip on his jacket lapel. "Because it sure sounds like you are."

Lucas shook his head and took three steps back when Gibbs let go.

"Gibbs, I was right." She took a step forward. "I know you said not to, but I came home last night and I picked up that search again because my gut… and anyway, I paid a little visit to the Department of Justice this morning. I had a little meeting there with Lucas, he told me what I needed to know-"

"Because you lied!"

"I left out a few details, and I learned my interrogation skills from the best. But here," Abby handed Gibbs a folder. "I found this."

"What is..?" Gibbs flipped open the file to see a photo of Shannon and Kelly, relocation information, case information… everything.

Lucas sighed. "That's classified information. I'm here to offer Abby a deal. She helps up with better security in exchange for us not pressing charges for hacking into the Department of Justice."

Abby ignored Lucas and watched Gibbs' face. "I was right, Gibbs. They were put into the witness protection program back in 1991."

Gibbs shook his head. "There were three bodies in the car… There was an NIS agent, Mike knew him."

"Ah hell," Lucas shrugged out of his coat and sat on the sofa. "We had two cars. That was a decoy. We didn't think anything would happen; we just thought it would be followed, and they were. The sniper was totally unexpected. The NIS agent was hit by the sniper, the car rolled and then exploded. There was nothing left of them to find. Some of your daughter's toys had been in the trunk and survived the explosion; it was too easy to not take advantage of the situation."

"Then who died in the car? What about their families?"

"They had told their families they were away on a secret mission. We told them they were lost in action in the Gulf."

"So my girls…"

Lucas took the folder from Gibbs' hand and flipped it open. "Almost everything here is coded just in case it falls into the wrong hands. It looks like they were placed in the mid-west somewhere. I'd have to talk to the Director of the United States Marshals Service to get exact details."

"Do it."

"I'll be in touch." Lucas stood and turned to Abby, "And you…"

"Will fix your computer security issues," Abby agreed.

"No. I don't want you near our system. In fact, once this is over, I don't ever want to see you again."

"I can live with that, just… do the right thing." Abby shut the door behind him and turned back to Gibbs. "Gibbs…"

Gibbs took a deep breath and then turned to rush for the bathroom, bracing himself over the toilet as he heaved.

It broke Abby's heart into a million pieces to see him so broken. He had been living in such pain and misery the past 18 years while Shannon and Kelly led new lives halfway across the country. She went to the kitchen for a glass of water and then followed him to the bathroom. He was sitting on the floor, his head resting back against the wall. She handed him the water and sat beside him. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For complicating your life."

Gibbs shook his head. He didn't know what to think, but her complicating his life was the least of his worries. He reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Not a word to anyone."

"Of course not. I won't put them in danger, I promise."

"I believe you."

* * *

"Gibbs, I need you to come over tonight."

"Abbs, I-" He wasn't feeling all that social. Seeing Shannon's mom and the guilt she shoveled at him for talking them away from her, coupled with the fact that they were still alive, had him all over the place emotionally.

"No, it's important." Even though they were alone in her lab, she wasn't going to say too much.

Gibbs held her gaze a moment and then sighed. "Alright, what time?"

"Seven."

Gibbs leaned in to press a kiss against her temple and hesitated. "It's about them?"

Abby nodded. "Yeah."

"See you later."

* * *

Gibbs was surprised to see Lucas sitting on Abby's sofa when he arrived.

"We don't have many options, Mr. Gibbs. With the Reynosa cartel still in firm control of the drug trade up and down the east coast, we would need a massive takeover from another cartel and the majority of cartel leaders in custody before we would feel safe enough for your wife and daughter to come home. I don't see that happening, unfortunately. Basically, we are prepared for one of two things. A.) we can show you, from a distance, that they are okay. We would hope that you would then leave them alone, knowing that they are safe and secure in their new lives, basically, a way for you to have closure."

"What's my other option?"

"We'll give you a new life so you can join them."

Abby's hand flew up to muffle her gasp and Gibbs' head snapped up. "You can what?"

"Your friend here seems to be quite the computer whiz. Together with the Marshals Service we can come up with a new identity for you to join them. You wouldn't receive traditional benefits, but had you been state-side during the original case, you would have been relocated with them."

"Tell me about them." He couldn't just drop his life and disappear, could he?

Lucas nodded. "Shannon and Kelly were relocated to a small town in Nebraska. She went through a nursing program and works at a health clinic in Lincoln, Nebraska. Kelly attended the University of Nebraska at the Lincoln campus, and majored in English. She works as a freelance writer and as an editor for a small newspaper. Shannon remarried in 1994 to a man named Terry Jensen, a local cop. He had no idea of their past and they seemed to be happily married until 2003. He retired and moved to Arizona shortly after their divorce. No other kids."

"This is it, Gibbs. You'll have your girls back." She refused to think of it as him leaving her. Not that she was ever his to begin with.

"If this is something you'd like to pursue, we can make this work."

"What if they don't want me back in their lives?"

"Could you get some time off? We can give you a few days with them, then if everything is working, we would likely relocate the three of you somewhere else. If not, you could come back to your life here and then we would likely relocate them and that would be final."

Gibbs swallowed against the lump in his throat. "I want to see them."

"I figured as much. We'll get Ms. Sciuto here to work on a new alias for you. We could have everything set in two weeks. Would that work for you?"

"Yeah," Gibbs cleared his throat. "Yeah, that'll be fine."

"Good." Lucas stood. "I'll be in touch once I have the final details of your flight figured out. I also," he shifted nervously. "I'm going to contact them and be sure that they want to meet with you. If they decide that they have moved on, we won't be moving forward with this. At this point, it's up to them. I hope you will respect that."

"I understand," he nodded.

Lucas held out his hand, but let it drop to his side when Gibbs made no move to shake his hand. "I'll be in touch." He grabbed his jacket from the arm of the chair and headed out the door.

Abby waited until Lucas was gone. "It's gonna happen, Gibbs. I know it will. I'll make you the best alias ever. It'll be so amazing that no one will be able to find you, and no one will look twice at your records. This," she smiled, "will work."

"Thanks Abbs."

"Your new last name will be Davenport, like theirs."

"Davenport?"

She nodded. "Yeah, they've kept their first names, so you'll be able to do the same. According to the program, keeping a person's first name the same makes it easier to avoid mistakes. They live in Waverly, Nebraska – it's a small town right outside of Lincoln…."

Gibbs half listened to what Abby said, but found himself wondering how things would work out. Was Shannon even interested in seeing him again after all these years? Did Kelly remember him? Did they ever talk about him, or were the memories of their happy times together off limits? Did Kelly look more like him, or like Shannon? When she was younger he had thought she looked more like his mother but that was nearly 20 years ago. Did she still like horses? Was her favorite color still blue? Did Shannon still bake cookies almost every weekend? Was her hair still red, or had it long since turned… silver, as Abby called it, like his?

"…Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked up to see Abby watching him, a look of concern on her face.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything? Can I do anything to help you?"

"You already are. You've done plenty, thank you." He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm gonna go, need some time to think."

"Ok, call me if you need anything, okay? I mean, you're Gibbs… you need nothing but coffee, and I'm sure you've got plenty, but-"

"I'll be fine, Abbs." He pulled her into a hug and then pulled his keys from his pockets. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

TBC….

Clearly I was being original with the last name Davenport... lol


	3. Chapter 3

I just don't get why people think I'm giving them a false sense of security… lol

* * *

"Abby, I can't thank you enough." He brushed a tear from her cheek and pulled her in close. "Everything you've done for me…" The past week had gone by in a flash. When he wasn't at work he was packing his basics into a small suitcase, his mind on overdrive at the idea of seeing his _family_ again.

"I'd do anything for you, Gibbs. You've done so much for me; it's only fair that I return the favor. And I know you aren't supposed to take anything personal, as a safety issue, but I don't think this will give you away." Abby pulled a small silver fox from her pocket and pressed it into his hand. "Remember me and the team now and again, okay?"

"I could never forget you, ever." He dropped the little fox into his pocket and hugged her close again. "You have the number for the burn phone?"

"In my head," she tapped her finger to the side of her head and smiled. She had spent hours reciting it over and over and over again.

"Good girl."

"Be safe Gibbs, we'll all be okay. I just want to know that you are as well."

Lucas tapped his watch. "Your flight to Houston leaves soon, you've got to get going."

Abby pulled away and straightened her shirt. "Go Gibbs… Go."

He nodded and held up his hand, curling his middle and ring finger down.

Abby mirrored his movement and watched him get into the waiting cab. With one final wave he was gone. She took one shuddering breath and then another and then one more before half collapsing on his front step.

"Whoa… easy there," Lucas stepped up. "Let's get you inside."

"No!" Abby waved him away.

"Okay, okay." He sat beside her. "You loved him, didn't you?"

"More than I've ever loved anyone," Abby wiped the tears from her face. She had never admitted it to anyone before, but now that he was gone for good there was no reason to hide it.

"Then why all the trouble to find his wife and daughter? I get the curiosity in the beginning, but you could've said nothing, why essentially push him away?"

Abby thought for a moment. "Because how much as I love him is how much he loves them. What kind of person would I be if I knowingly stood in the way of that?"

"But where will you find love and happiness then?"

"Does it look like Gibbs and I were on the fast track for romance? Plus, three people are happy now. How could I put my happiness over three?"

"I think that's the most self-less thing I've ever seen anyone do."

Abby pushed up off the step. "I've got to get to work."

"You can call me, you know, if you want to talk about it."

"I don't." Abby walked away without looking back.

* * *

"He what?"

"He stopped by this morning, said he needed some time away. Handed me this to give to the director and that was it." Abby handed the paper to Vance. It basically covered everything Abby had said, he needed time away, to put him on vacation leave immediately.

Lucas was still working on a way for him to disappear completely. If things went well and he was going to stay with his girls, they would need a cover story, but likely the Director of NCIS would be brought in on the plan. But Gibbs would have three weeks to make his decision.

"If you ask me, the man needs a vacation. DiNozzo, you're team lead." Vance folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket. He wasn't thrilled about the short notice, but having Gibbs out of the office for a bit would let him re-establish who was really boss at NCIS – something Agent Gibbs tended to forget.

"He tell you anything, Abby?" Tony followed her down to her lab, curious as to why the boss would hand deliver a note to her apartment rather than face the director himself.

"He said nothing, but he looked calm, like he had thought it through, so… I asked where he was headed, but he just shook his head."

"My guess is the beach with Franks again. Would be hard to give that up."

Abby forced a smile. "Maybe." If she could force herself to believe he was with Mike, it would be easier to ignore the facts.

"Arlight, well, if you want to grab a beer or something… I know you two were _close_."

"I'm fine Tony. Everyone loves someone they can't have."

Tony nodded, he knew that feeling. "Maybe he's your Shannon."

Abby's head snapped up at the mention of Shannon's name, but when Tony didn't indicate that he knew anything, she let it slide. "Maybe he is."

"But he'll be back, you haven't lost him for good."

"I know," Abby forced a second smile and circled around to turn her equipment on. "I'll talk to you later, Tony."

* * *

Waverly, Nebraska.

Gibbs paced his hotel room as he waited. He had flown to Houston on his regular passport, and then flew to Omaha under the name Aaron Powell. From there he had rented a car and driven nearly an hour to a hotel in Waverly. He had been aware of every woman he passed in the small town, aware that it could be his wife or daughter. If he decided to stay with his family, he would keep his given name Leroy and change to the last name Davenport like his girls. The witness protection program recommended that people kept their own first name, even same initials to make the transition and likelihood of a slip up on the lower side. But for anyone trying to find him, Houston Texas was his last known stop. It was near enough to the Mexican border that anyone seeing his name on a flight manifest to Houston would assume Mexico had been his next stop.

There was a knock at the door and Gibbs rushed to answer it, but was disappointed to see a man standing there. "Mr. Gibbs, I assume?"

Gibbs nodded.

"I'm John Corte with the U.S. Marshal and I'm here to oversee your meeting with Shannon and Kelly Davenport." As Gibbs opened his mouth to protest, he spoke again. "Sorry, security reasons. They'll be here shortly."

Gibbs nodded and stepped back to let him in. He continued to pace and then stood by the window looking out over the small city. He didn't hear the soft knock on the door, his attention focused on a city that had seen his little girl grow up over the past 20 years.

"Dad?"

Gibbs turned and stood face to face with a young woman. She had his same eyes and dark hair, but her skin was as fair as Shannon's. "I once told someone that if I had one wish, it would be to hug my daughter one more time."

Kelly smiled wide and rushed forward to wrap her arms around her father.

Gibbs stood speechless as his daughter hugged him for the first time in 18 years, slowly bringing his arms up to hug her close. His eyes fell shut as he tried to fight against the tears welling up. The last time he had hugged her she was eight and he was leaving. Now she was 26 and he felt like he was finally coming home.

"Gibbs?"

His eyes flew open and he saw Shannon standing just inside the doorway. She looked the same, her delicate features and red hair was the same. She looked older and tired (but he figured he did as well) but the way she smiled at him reminded him of the first time he had seen her inside the window of the dress shop all those years ago in Stillwater. Daring to only drop one hand from Kelly, he reached out to her. When he finally had both girls in his arms, he stopped fighting the emotions and allowed himself to cry. "God, I've missed you guys-" his voice cracked "-so much."

"We're here, together, now." Shannon whispered.

Kelly pressed her face to her father's chest. If he was crying she figured she was allowed to cry as well.

"So um…" John cleared his throat. "If you think you'll be okay, I suppose I can leave."

"We'll be fine, thank you." Shannon had been concerned with Gibbs having suddenly found them after so long, but she had no doubt that they would be safe with him.

"I'll be in contact in two weeks or so to discuss further action." John opened the door. "Take care."

"I don't know what to say," Gibbs said quietly. "I don't know what… to do."

Shannon wiped at the tears on her cheeks and nodded to the bed. "Let's sit before you fall over."

Gibbs nodded and went to sit on the bed and leaned back against the headboard, taking a tissue when Kelly handed him the box she grabbed from the bathroom. Shannon sat beside him, wrapping her hands around one of his and holding it in her lap. Kelly sat at their feet, dabbing a tissue at her eyes.

"How did you find us? Mom said that being in the program meant we could never be in contact with you again."

"A friend of mine, someone I work with at NCIS is a genius when it comes to computers. She… was digging around and found something about you guys and brought it to my attention."

Shannon tensed. "If she could find us, the people who are after us could…"

"No." Gibbs shook his head. "It took her genius and high level security access to find you, you're still safe. I won't let anything happen. To either of you," he promised. "I wasn't able to be there last time, but now… No one will hurt you."

"It wasn't your fault, please don't blame yourself." Shannon leaned in to hug him again, leaning into his embrace.

"Why was your friend looking for us?"

"I… I don't really know why Abby does a lot of what she does," he was still trying to figure out what brought her to look for them. "She said she was watching a movie that mentioned the witness protection program and it made her curious. So she hacked in the U.S. department of Justice's computer system. She saw you," he turned to Shannon, "listed and came to me, but I told her she was nuts. I thought I would have known, thought I would have felt if you were still alive. She went and kept digging on her own until she knew for sure."

"Do you think she'll tell anyone where we are?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Not a chance. We've been working on a cover as to why I've left. No one will like it, but it'll keep people from looking for me. And in any case Leroy Jethro Gibbs traveled as far as Houston. I used another, untraceable alias to get to Omaha, and now that I'm here, with you, it'll be Leroy Davenport."

Shannon laughed. "It's not quite you, but it'll work."

"I don't care what people call me as long as I have you two back."

"You said NCIS, what's that?" Kelly asked.

"Navel Criminal Investigative Service, I investigate crimes within the Navy and the Marines."

"Cool! So you're a cop, or is it more like the FBI, or…?"

"Doesn't matter, I'm done with that now. Tell me about you; tell me about your lives," he reached out to touch her cheek, hair, shoulder… as if he was double checking that she was really there. They sat together until the early morning, ordering room service at some point to keep their stomachs from rumbling too much while they talked. Shannon eventually fell asleep, her head resting on Gibbs' shoulder as he and Kelly talked about her time in college. Eventually Kelly gave up the fight and fell asleep as well, leaving Gibbs to watch over his girls as they slept.

Morning came quickly, and despite having the hotel reserved for the first week, Shannon and Kelly insisted he come home with them. They had missed out on so much time together, they didn't want to waste a single second. Kelly gave him the grand tour of their little house, while Shannon made coffee. While she was waiting for it to brew, she carried his suitcase to the master bedroom and set it on the bed. Gibbs found her and wrapped his arms tightly around her from behind and pressed his face to her neck. "Never in a million years did I think this would happen."

Shannon pulled his arms tighter around her waist and leaned her head back against his shoulder. "Let's find you space in the closet, this is your home now too."

"Don't have much." Gibbs glanced at the single suitcase. "Don't need much either."

"Don't worry, dad, we'll get you some new clothes." Kelly carried in a cup of coffee and handed it to him before sitting on the bed next to his suitcase.

Gibbs took a sip and set his mug down on the bedside table and then unzipped his bag. Shannon opened the closet door and moved around a few things. He handed her the few items that were already on hangers and then waited as she cleared out a few drawers for him.

"Hey, what's this?" Kelly held up the small silver fox that Abby had given him.

Gibbs took it and turned it over in his hand a few times. "It was a gift from a friend."

"Cool. You should have it out, you know, remember your friends."

Gibbs set it down on the nightstand and stared at it a moment, wondering what Abby was doing and how the team had reacted to the news that he was on_ vacation _the next few weeks. He hoped they weren't badgering her for information as to why he left. He had every bit of confidence that Abby wouldn't tell them the truth, but he didn't want that burden on her shoulders. It seemed like all she ever did was hide his secrets.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?" Gibbs lifted his gaze to his daughter. "What?"

"You looked sad just then, is everything okay?"

Gibbs pulled his daughter into a hug and sighed happily, "everything is perfect."

With Gibbs somewhat settled into the house where his wife and daughter had been living for the past 18 years, they headed for the kitchen to get a start on dinner. They decided on simple and while he took care of the pasta, Shannon made a salad and Kelly set the table. They showed him where the basics were and then just encouraged him to look around, open cupboards and pull out drawers.

After dinner they headed for the living room and Kelly pulled out a photo album she had put together about her time in Junior High and High School. She pointed out her friends and the few boys she had dated. Gibbs' jaw tensed and he wondered if her step father had done a good job checking into these boys before letting her go out with them. Kelly managed to avoid any mention of her step father until Gibbs saw him in a photo from her graduation.

"He was a good man?"

Kelly's shoulders dropped forward and she leaned against him. "He wasn't you."

"But he was good to you? Good to you both?" He pressed a kiss to her forehead and glanced over at Shannon.

"He was, but he struggled with the stress of his job. When he was able to retire he wanted to move to the dry heat of Arizona and it just… wasn't for me. We split on good terms and we still talk around the holidays."

Gibbs nodded.

"You didn't remarry?"

Gibbs squeezed his daughter's hand, "I did, three times. Not proud of it, but I just couldn't… My job has kept me busy and it was always my first priority."

"I'm sorry, I always assumed you were happily married again. I always wondered if I had a half sister or brother." Kelly snuggled into his side and held on tightly. "I wish you could have come with us, I wished for it so badly."

Gibbs could see the tears forming at the corner of her eyes and he pulled her even closer. "I'm here now. Can't go back and change things, so might as well enjoy our time together now."

"He wasn't a replacement, Gibbs," Shannon smiled. "He is a good man, and in the end we were better as friends. But he was good to us, and… and he was a good influence for Kelly."

"But he wasn't my _dad_."

"I'm glad you had someone. Glad you both had someone; you don't have to downplay anything. What about this, what is this photo from?" Gibbs pointed to another photo.

"I helped out at the Children's theater, this was the cast photo." Kelly continued to flip through the scrap book, pointing out her favorite photos and explaining some of the bigger events in her life. Eventually she yawned and rubbed at her eyes. "I'm so tired, but I don't want to go to sleep."

"You have to work tomorrow?"

"I'm supposed to go in to the newspaper office," Kelly nodded. "Maybe I can take the day off, or work from home."

"Go to work," he bumped he shoulder against hers. "I'll be here when you get back. We can pick up where we left off."

"I have tomorrow off," Shannon tucked a lock of Kelly's hair behind her ear. "Maybe you can get home a little early and we can go out and grab a bite to eat. Maybe that Chinese place you like. If I remember correctly, your father is rather fond of cashew chicken."

Gibbs didn't bother to hide the smile.

"Cashew chicken is my favorite, too! Alright, then I'm headed to bed." She jumped up and then turned and bent to hug Shannon and then Gibbs, holding a little longer than necessary. "I'm so glad you're here. I love you, dad."

"Love you too." He couldn't remember the last time he'd said it so easily and actually meant it. Gibbs watched her go and then pushed the scrapbook on the coffee table and pulled Shannon to sit where Kelly had been between them. "I still don't know what to think."

"It's hard to believe after all these years…"

"Thought you were dead." Gibbs pressed his lips to her forehead and hugged her close.

"I'm so sorry Jethro, I wish things could have been different, but you were overseas and they couldn't get ahold of you and then… they said we had to move on, forget about you. They scared me so bad, told me Kelly would be their first target if they knew we were still alive and I couldn't… I couldn't put her in danger like that."

"I know," Gibbs soothed. "I don't blame you."

Shannon cried against his chest and it wasn't long before hot tears burned at the corner of his eyes. They sat together for almost an hour – just being. They didn't talk or look at photos, they just sat together lost in their thoughts until they had trouble staying awake.

They crawled into bed and lay side-by-side. It took a moment for them to relax and eventually, Gibbs ended up with his arms wrapped tightly around her, his face buried in her hair. He wanted to blame the exhaustion, but it didn't go unnoticed that his body hadn't reacted to her the way it so often did in his dreams. But for the first time in a long time, Gibbs wasn't plagued by nightmares and he slept through the night.

He woke early though, before Shannon and Kelly and headed downstairs to the kitchen to get the coffee going. It took a few tries before finding the coffee filters, but soon the scent of coffee filled the room. He was halfway through his first cup when he heard footsteps on the stairs and Kelly appeared. "Morning."

"Morning," she yawned and nodded when he held up an empty cup.

He poured her a cup while she grabbed a bowl, cereal and milk and carried it all to the table. They sat together quietly, sharing the paper that Gibbs had carried in from the front porch, until Kelly headed back up to shower and dress for work.

"Don't let mom sleep in too long, she'll sleep past ten if you let her."

"I remember," Gibbs smiled. "Have a good day at work." He watched as Kelly headed down the drive to her car. Quietly, he turned back to his coffee and the newspaper while he waited for Shannon to wake.

* * *

By the end of his two weeks, Gibbs was starting to feel restless. He'd already found a car, so he wasn't stuck at home all day while Shannon and Kelly were at work, but Waverly wasn't a big town, and even a day in Lincoln didn't satisfy he need to do _something_. Shannon had suggested a small woodworking project in their garage, but he didn't have any tools and after checking out the garage, there wasn't much room to work either. He settled for some minor repairs on the house, fixing a loose step leading up to the front porch, fixing the squeaky hinge on the back door and climbing up on the ladder to clear the gutters.

He needed a job, but it wasn't clear if they would be staying in Waverly or if the program would be moving them elsewhere. Being a nurse, there were no shortage of job opportunities and Kelly could keep her freelance work going. Part of what he needed was the physical work to tire his body and mind. It played over and over in his head that maybe Shannon didn't fight as hard to get him with them the first year or so. He understood her not wanting to put Kelly into danger, but he would've gone to the ends of the earth if there had been a way to reunite his little family.

He needed something – needed to feel useful. The few hours in the evening he spent with Shannon and Kelly were good – Kelly was a never ending supply of stories and Gibbs wondered what his father was doing.

"Is Grandpa… Grandpa Jack still alive?"

"He is," Gibbs nodded. "Doing good. I was just thinking that you sure like to tell stories like him."

"Can he join us?"

"He probably could, we'll have to talk to John Corte when he calls again. I know he would love to see you."

"I miss him."

Gibbs told her more about his store, but left out the details of their estrangement for so many years. He had told Shannon more of the details of his strained relationship with his father and her mother, and a bit more about his failed marriages.

He surprised himself with how much he found himself wanting to tell Abby. Wanting to share the success of Kelly's writing, how she had graduated the top of her class. There were small places in and around town that he found himself thinking of how much Abby would enjoy it – small shops and cafes. He did a double-take at a gas station – he had gone inside to pay with cash and there was a giant Caf-Pow dispenser behind the counter. He'd opened his mouth to ask for one out of habit, but stopped himself before he could get the words out. Hopefully Tony was keeping her well supplied with caffeine.

* * *

Washington, DC

"Anyone seen Abby yet today?" Tony set his coffee beside the keyboard and shrugged out of his jacket before sitting down.

"She's not in yet?" Ziva looked up.

"I haven't seen her," McGee said with a shake of his head. "You check her lab?"

"Was just there," Tony nodded. "Left a Caf-Pow! in the fridge, but her lab was dark still. Maybe Gibbs is back and they are… you know, taking their time."

McGee rolled his eyes and switched on his computer. It would make sense though. Abby hadn't mentioned anything the day before about Gibbs coming back, but if he was, there was no doubt Abby would drive over to welcome him back – bringing donuts and coffee and the office gossip (that Gibbs didn't care about) as a one-person welcome home committee. She had been a little subdued the past two weeks with Gibbs gone, but it was to be expected.

"Gibbs wouldn't be late thought," Ziva said as she glanced at the watch on her wrist. "If he is back in town and back to work, he would be here by now, no?"

Tony frowned. "Ziva's right. Maybe I'll give her a call." He dialed Abby from his cell and listened as the phone rang a few times and went to voicemail. Leaving a brief message asking her to call, he hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Ok, so my gut isn't quite on par with the big boss, but something doesn't feel right."

"Maybe give her until lunch and then drive by her place?" McGee suggested.

"Yeah," Tony nodded and then stood. "Maybe Ducky knows something, he's in right?" When Ziva confirmed that she had seen him on her way in, he headed down to autopsy to see what he could find out. Twenty minutes later Tony was in his car and headed toward Abby's apartment. Ducky hadn't heard from her since they had left NCIS the night before, and she wasn't answering her cell.

When he saw her car parked outside her building, Tony breathed a sigh of relief. He took the stairs up to the second floor and tapped his knuckles against the door. When she didn't answer he knocked a bit harder before deciding to pick the lock. As he knelt and pulled his lock-pick kit from his pocket he noticed the tell-tale signs of scratching from someone unskilled at picking locks. With a hand on his gun, Tony tried the doorknob and a surge of worry went through him when the door swung open. The apartment was dark, but before switching the light on, he could see that her place had been tossed.

He resisted calling out for her, instead going room to room with his gun, looking for any sign of her. When he found none, he pulled his phone out and dialed Ziva. "Get McGee and get over here, _now_." He hurried back to his car to grab the camera and kit he kept in his truck and rushed back to her apartment. He called her phone again and grimaced when he heard her phone ringing in her bedroom. He found it attached to the charger beside her bed, so he assumed it was sometime between going to bed and his first missed call at 9:20am.

"Tony?" McGee's tentative voice called out. "You in here?"

"Yeah," Tony headed down the hallway to meet his team. "Abby's missing."

"I… I… I see that." Both McGee and Ziva looked around, their eyes wide with disbelief at the mess in Abby's apartment.

"She put up a good fight," Ziva commented dryly, looking at the broken lamp on the floor and the picture frames hanging haphazardly on the wall.

"Bag and tag anything you think will help us. McGee, see if you can find her laptop. I'm going to call the landlord and see if there are any cameras in the hallway, and if not, I'm going for traffic cams. Then I'm going to talk to the neighbors." Tony was halfway to the door when he stopped and turned around. "And for fuck sake, get Gibbs back here."

* * *

TBC….

*happy sigh* I've missed the good old evil!hat.

Also, I hate when people hold the next chapter hostage for reviews… but what is the consensus of holding chapters hostage for chapters of other fics…? *ahem* gosgirl, FWandFS and Gibbsredhoodie…


	4. Chapter 4

Alright… I'll be nice and post even though I haven't gotten any new chapters to read… *ahem* You know who you are.

* * *

For two days NCIS worked double time to try and find Abby before getting the FBI involved. Fornell was more than willing to pass on his other cases to secondary FBI teams and put his full attention to finding Abby.

"Anyone get a hold of Gibbs yet?"

Tony shook his head. "His phone is off, can't even track his location. Flew to Houston and that's the end of his trail."

"Old bastard is probably down in Mexico with Franks. You get ahold of him yet?"

"Left a message at the bar, but Camilla said she hasn't seen Franks for a few days. She was going to drive out today and call me back."

"Sober them up and get 'em both up here."

Tony nodded. "He's going to murder us for this…"

"You didn't lose her, any sign that she was a targeted for a specific reason?" Fornell flipped through the photos taken in her apartment.

"Nothing that we've come across. McGee has been going through cases from the past five years where she has testified in court – anything that would plant the idea that she was behind the conviction, but so far no one has been released."

Fornell nodded. "She been contacted any more for that Mexican cold case she was working on?"

"No," Tony shook his head. "The case was cold and she gave everything back. There was nothing she could do on it."

"And you haven't heard from them?"

"No, Alejandro stopped by one last time about two weeks before Gibbs left. He collected all the evidence she had brought back from Mexico and thanked NCIS for the help. Why?"

"Just wondering, trying to piece together everyone she's been in contact with." Fornell stacked the photos on top of the files they had for the case. "I'm going to make copies of everything and then head back to my office and pull my team together. I'll see if I can get a pair of eyes down in Mexico. If anyone can find Abby, I've no doubt it'll be Jethro."

"Go ahead," Tony waved at the files. "Keep us up-to-date on what you hear."

"Of course. And I assume you'll provide the same courtesy."

"This isn't just a case, there is no competition. I just want her safe. I'll call as soon as I find anything."

Fornell picked up the files and headed for a copy room. Had it been any other case, he would've taken them to the FBI for copying, but this was personal and he didn't want to delay any work that NCIS might get done. Within twenty minutes he had the photos and files back on Tony's desk and was headed for the elevator.

Tony paced back and forth across the squad room – he knew he was missing something. "McGee, check US customs records for Alejandro Rivera."

"Why?"

"You know… I never liked that guy, don't think the boss did either."

"He was fine down in Mexico. I mean, he would flirt with Abby, but most men do." McGee tapped away as his computer. "Show's Alejandro entered the US about a week ago. Flew into Miami, then caught a plane to D.C…."

"Damnit." Tony turned to Ziva. "Call Fornell. See if he can get eyes on Alejandro. I'm going to see Ducky."

* * *

Emotions were running high all throughout NCIS. Everyone feared for Abby's safety, and even Ducky hadn't been of much help. Tony paced in the squad room once more, not knowing who he could turn to. With Gibbs unreachable, and Abby missing most likely due to Gibbs' actions, Tony was running out of resources. He sat back at his computer and searched for Jackson Gibbs' phone number, deciding on trying him at the store first.

"Hello," Jackson's friendly greeting made Tony smile, if only briefly.

"Jack, it's Tony DiNozzo. I work with Gibbs at NCIS."

"Tony! Of course, how are you son? How is everyone?"

"I'm doin' alright, but um… have you talked to Gibbs lately?"

Jack was silent for a moment. "I haven't, he okay?"

"I think he's fine, but we can't find him. Almost two weeks ago he decided he needed some time off, time away from work. Handed Abby the paperwork to give to the director."

"Huh. Well, he didn't come up here to spend time with his old man, if that's what you're wondering."

"No. He hopped a flight to Houston and we think he met with an old friend and headed to Mexico. But we really need to get ahold of him. He didn't say how long he'd be gone or when he'd be back, but… we need his help."

"His help?"

Tony sighed. He didn't want to worry Jack too much, but at the same time, anyone who could help find both Gibbs and Abby should know. "It's Abby…"

"He up and leave her with no warning? My son is a damn fool-"

"She's missing, Jack. Didn't show up to work, we went to her apartment and the lock had been picked and she was gone."

Jack's end was silent.

"Jack?"

"Sorry son, I'm still here…. I just… is there anything I can do?"

"Not at this point, no. But if you hear from Gibbs at all, please tell him we need his help."

"Of course, and Tony… please. If you hear anything, please let me know."

"I will. Well, I've got to get back to work. I'll be in touch."

"Thank you."

The line went dead and Tony glanced over at McGee. "He hasn't heard from Gibbs either."

McGee sighed and returned to the traffic videos he was watching. He was checking all the intersections within a mile of Abby's apartment in hopes to see her in a car – there was no luck with parking lot cameras. "Tony!"

"You found her?" Tony jumped up, his chair crashing back against the filing cabinet.

"No, but look!" With a few clicks, McGee had the video up on the plasma and was scrolling through to the right time. Suddenly he pressed pause and moved to the screen, waving Ziva over. "Look, that's Alejandro. There is someone in the passenger seat, and the windows are too dark to see the back seat, but this is a block from Abby's apartment, just past midnight."

"That sonofabitch," Tony was ready to punch someone. He picked up his chair and dropped into his seat, slapping his hand on the table. "Fuck." After a quick call to Fornell and the promise to send over the footage, Tony dialed Jackson's store again.

"Hello?" Jackson's greeting was a little less cheerful.

"Jack, it's Tony. If you talk to Gibbs first, tell him we think it's an Alejandro Rivera…"

"He has her?"

"We don't have 100% proof yet, but… Gibbs never liked him, I'm not sure what there was between them, but… just, if you hear from him…"

"Oh believe me… thanks for calling Tony."

* * *

Abby tried to stretch, but her hands were tied tightly behind her back. She had fought hard, and landed a few good kicks, but they had outnumbered her and eventually secured her so that she was unable to move. They said nothing as they rushed her out to a waiting car, and as soon as they pulled the hood from over her face and her eyes met Alejandro's she knew she was in trouble.

"Alejandro? What are you-"

"I don't think you have been very truthful, Abigail…"

If there was a time for her poker face, this was it. "What are you talking about? Let me go, I need to get to work. You can talk to me in my lab."

"I don't trust what happens in your lab."

"What do you want? I sent everything back…"

"I want to know where Gibbs is."

"Why?"

"Oh, I think you know why… where is he?"

"I don't know, he gave me an envelope to give the director, said he was taking a little time off, but other than that… I don't know." She almost said something about Mexico, but she didn't want to run the risk that Alejandro would look up Franks and go down there.

Alejandro shook his head. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me right now… we've got time. Plenty of it."

* * *

Stillwater, PA

Jackson Gibbs looked up when the small bell rang announcing a customer. "Hello. Can I help you find anything?"

"Are you Jackson Gibbs?"

Jack frowned at the formal tone and reached for the gun he kept under the counter. "Yes."

"My name is Lucas Evans with the U.S. Department of Justice," he held up his badge and ID. "You have somewhere we can talk privately?"

Jack glanced around the empty shop. "This is good as anywhere else. What can I do for you?"

"You might want to sit down."

"M'fine where I am, thank you."

"I've spoken to your son, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and he would like you to join him-"

"You've spoken to my son?" Jack stood tall and leaned forward over the counter. "You tell that asshole to get back here _now_ and find Abby. I don't care what he's doing or how much vacation he thinks he needs to clear his mind."

"I… I don't…" Lucas stepped back.

"You heard me. If he can't come back here to help find that poor woman, I don't ever want to hear from him again."

"What are you talking about?" Lucas needed to be careful if Jack wasn't interested in seeing his son, he didn't want to give too much away.

"I don't have all the facts, you should call NCIS since my son hasn't. Abby has been kidnapped and Tony tells me they are pretty sure it's by people who are looking for my son."

"I… I had no idea."

"Is he hiding from these people? Is that why he's been unreachable?"

"I…"

"Because if he lets her fall for this…. You tell him that if anything happens to her because of him… she's the best thing that's happened to him in a long time. I just hope he realizes that before it's too late."

"Well, maybe not. The reason your son has been unreachable is because he has been put in the witness protection program with Shannon and Kelly. I'm here to offer you a new life with your son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter."

Jack grabbed the gun and slammed it down on the counter. "Now I don't find that funny Mr. Evans. Who are you really?"

"Honest, I know it's hard to believe, really." Lucas pulled a photo of the three out and slid it across the counter to Jack.

It took him a moment to pick up the photo, but when he did he couldn't hide the smile. "Is that why he's hiding?" His eyes watered at the happy look on his son's face. Kelly, despite having grown into a beautiful young woman, still had the same mischievous eyes of a little girl.

"Well, I don't know of anyone being after him, he was no hurry to leave, he didn't even want to believe it, but you've got to understand. If you say anything about this to anyone, it could put them in danger."

"I understand. I… I can't leave now, not with Abby missing. If I suddenly leave now, it'll look suspicious." He was glad his son could have a second change, but Jack couldn't walk away with Abby missing. She was important to his son, and if his son couldn't help her, then he would do the best he could.

"I understand, but we were thinking of faking your death. I'm sorry for being blunt, but no one would question a heart attack or a stroke."

"For your information, I'm in excellent health for my age. Maybe a few too many cookies, but you can blame Mary down the street at the bakery for that." Jack scowled.

"My apologies, it would just be the easiest way…"

Jack waved off his apology. "I can't leave now, now while those dirt bags have Abby. Can I wait until she's safe?"

Lucas nodded. "I can't give you any other information on your son until we decide to go through the process of adding you to the program."

"I understand. Can I keep the photo?" Jack picked it up with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I can't leave any evidence behind…"

"I understand." Jack looked at it a moment longer and handed it back. "Can you give him a message from me?"

"Of course."

"Tell him that Abby was kidnapped, ask if he can think of where an Alejandro Rivera would keep her. He's Mexican, but there is no record of him leaving the country since he arrived a week ago."

Lucas pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the name Alejandro Rivera. "You know anything about this guy?"

"No. But you could check with NCIS, they probably know more than I do."

"Alright, thank you. I'll be in touch."

Lucas left and drove 30 miles out of town before finding a hotel. He was tempted to keep quiet on the situation and instead tell Leroy that his father was unable to join him at this point, but he remembered the look on Abby's face when she had said goodbye. If she was in danger because of what she had done to give the man his family back, she deserved all the help she could get.

Once he was settled in his hotel room, he set up his laptop and dug out his cell phone. He wasn't supposed to contact Leroy _Davenport_ directly, but he couldn't get over the look on Abby's face. He figured her life was worth breaking the rules for.

* * *

"Yeah, G… Davenport." He needed to work on that. So far only Shannon, Kelly and his contacts within the witness protection program had his new cell phone number, but he couldn't keep stumbling over his name.

"Leroy, this is Lucas Evans from the Depart-"

"I remember. You were going to talk to my father. How is he?" He looked up when Shannon sat beside him. Settling into a life in Nebraska wasn't easy, but he figured that if he got his father moved and eventually her mother (though he was less enthusiastic about that) they would better be able to settle into a routine. Gibbs was bored without a job, and although Abby had given him an impressive background to go with his new identity, jobs were few and far between and there was no point if they were going to move again.

"Things aren't going quite as smoothly as I had hoped…"

Gibbs sat a little straighter. He'd felt a little uneasy and hoped it had nothing to do with his father. "What's going on?"

"What do you know about an Alejandro Rivera?"

"My father is he…?"

"Your father is fine," Lucas was quick to add.

Gibbs thought for a moment. "He works for the Mexican government. He was… sniffing around a few cold cases, borrowed our forensic scientist a few weeks ago, but left when she didn't discover anything. Why?"

"He's the son of a man named Pedro Hernandez."

Gibbs froze. "I… I haven't heard that name in a while." He wasn't sure how much this man knew about the time after Shannon and Kelly supposedly died.

"I imagine not, no… But we have a little problem."

"If we need to disappear somewhere else, just say the word."

"How much to do you trust Ms. Sciuto?"

"What?" Gibbs felt his heart seize in his chest at the mention of her name.

"I just got off the phone with the Director of NCIS. Ms. Sciuto has been kidnapped and though they've yet to make contact with her kidnappers, it's believed to be Mr. Rivera. We need to get you and your family into a safe house. I will call Mr. Corte next, he will take good care of you. He can have you somewhere safe within the hour."

Gibbs felt as if the air was sucked from his lungs. "They will be ready; I'll be on the next flight back." Gibbs covered the phone. "You and Kel need to go pack a bag."

Shannon nodded, her eyes wide with fear, and went looking for Kelly.

"Mr. Gi… Mr. Davenport, that isn't a good idea."

"I don't care; I'm not going to let her fall for something I did. I can't… Call Corte." He disconnected the call and followed Shannon upstairs. There was a suitcase open on the bed and she was putting her basics into it. Gibbs pulled out his suitcase set it on the bed next to hers. "You guys will be okay."

"And what about you?" Shannon asked. "What about this family. Will the _three _of us be okay?"

"I can't make promises, you know that. Never could when it came down to the action of others. But I need to go back, I need to-"

Kelly walked in, suitcase in hand. "I've kept a bag packed in my closet ever since we first went away, just rotated the clothes every few months."

Gibbs pulled her into a hug. "It's just a precaution. You'll be alright." He went to the closest and grabbed a few things. He still had a lot of things in his DC house, but he didn't know if it was being watched, so he wanted enough for a few days at a hotel.

"Where are we going?"

"Mr. Corte will put you two in a safe house, I don't know where."

"Wait, mom and I? What about you?"

"Gibbs?" Shannon pressed a shirt into the suitcase. "What's going on?"

"Abby… the person who helped me find you, she was kidnapped. It might have to do with Hernandez. I'm going back to find her."

"But what about us?"

"You'll be fine." And they would be. Rivera had no idea they were still alive. If anything happened to him, Gibbs knew that they would remain safe.

"She knows where we are… you think they'll use her to get to us?"

"She won't say anything."

"But if they torture her? I've seen it in movies…"

Gibbs squeezed his eyes shut, the idea of Abby being tortured more than he was able to stand. "They don't know that she knows where we are. Most likely they think they can use her to bring me back."

"Which is exactly what you're doing! You can't go, dad. You can't… what about us, the three of us? We're finally together again."

"I'll be fine."

"What if you aren't…? I can't have you back in my life and then lose you again!"

Gibbs sighed. "Kelly, I can't turn my back on her. Not after everything she's done for me. You don't understand." There was no way to explain the lengths that Abby had gone to help him find his girls, to help him stay out of Mexico…. To keep him alive.

"Then help me understand, explain it to me," she pleaded.

"We don't have time, I need to pack. Corte will be here soon. He'll keep you updated."

"Dad, no… wait, don't go…" Kelly grabbed his arm as he tried to close his suitcase. "I get it; you want to help a friend, but what about us? We're your family. _Please!_"

"She's…. she's been my family for the past ten years. I can't turn my back on her, not when her life is at risk."

"So you'll put ours at risk?" Shannon asked flatly.

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "They want me, not you. You going to a safe house is merely a precaution. The only way they would find out about you is if they get it from Abby, I would die before I put you at risk again."

"Which is why you can't go, you can't leave us." Kelly pleaded.

"I'll come back, but for now NCIS needs my help. It's because of _me_ that she's missing. I can't live with that hanging over me."

"I'm going with you." Kelly folded her arms over her chest. "I'm not letting you leave me again."

"Kel…" Shannon warned.

"No. Do what you want mom, I'm not a minor anymore. I can make my own decisions. I'm going back to DC with dad."

"I can't let you do that," Gibbs shook his head.

"You can't keep me locked in a safe house against my will. I'll get a ticket and go on my own if I can't go with you."

"Kelly, sweetheart, it's not safe for us if we do that…" Shannon tried to talk her down, but like her father, once her mind was made up there was no changing it.

"Do what you want, mom. I'm going to DC. I'm going home."

Gibbs stared at his daughter a moment longer, but he recognized the look of pure will – it was the same one he saw every morning in the mirror. He gave a heavy sigh. "Get in the car."

A small grin pulled at Kelly's lips and she hoisted her backpack over her shoulder and lifted her suitcase. She watched as Shannon quickly added the rest of the things she would need into the suitcase and then followed them down the stairs.

"You guys will do exactly what I say once we're there."

"Of course. Anything you say." Kelly agreed.

Shannon sighed. "Where will we stay?"

"At NCIS. You'll be safe there."

* * *

TBC….


	5. Chapter 5

a.)Don't say I don't love you. I could have ended this chapter much worse and/or dragged this out. But the evil hat and I were nice…. b.)keep bugging certain other people to update.

* * *

Gibbs strode out of the elevator, his girls right behind him, to see his team standing around the plasma. "Fill me in!"

"Boss!" Tony spun around. "Where the hell have you… who are… Abby's missing!" He looked at Gibbs, the two women behind him and back again.

Gibbs was startled by how run-down Tony looked. It was clear he hadn't slept in a few days, and if he guessed right, he doubted Tony had anything more than coffee for nourishment. "I know, what do you-" He trailed off as he approached the screen. Abby was sitting in the middle of dark, window-less room, several men standing around. One was circling her, taunting her as she sat blindfolded. "Abby…"

"An hour ago we were sent this live feed. They've been taunting her, taunting us. They think she knows where you are, she keeps saying no, but they won't let it go. McGee is trying to track it, but has been running into all kinds of walls. Where have you been?"

"They're beating her!" Kelly pushed past her father to get a better look at the screen when one of the men back-handed Abby across the face.

"Who-" Tony motioned to Kelly and then Shannon.

"DiNozzo, McGee, David…. Shannon and Kelly."

Tony did a double take and opened his mouth to speak and shook his head. "I'm sure there is a really long and complicated story behind this, but I don't have the time. McGee?"

"Almost there bo_… Tony_."

Gibbs went to his desk. It hadn't yet been cleared out, technically he was still on 'vacation', and grabbed his badge and gun. "You got a location yet?"

McGee's fingers flew over the keyboard and suddenly he jumped up. "Got it!"

"Address, now!" Gibbs waited as McGee scribbled it on a piece of paper.

"McGee, get that address to Fornell." Vance stood looking down over the railing.

"Fornell?" Gibbs' head snapped up.

Vance came down the stairs and circled around to stand in front of Gibbs. "Since you were gone, we've given the lead to the FBI. He has a team ready to go. Stand down, Agent Gibbs."

"I'm not trusting her life to the FBI." Gibbs stepped around Vance and headed for the elevator. "DiNozzo. You don't let them," he pointed to Shannon and Kelly, "out of your sight."

"On it, boss!"

"_Jethro,_ no." She couldn't remember the last time she had called him by his given name, but she needed to put her foot down. "We're here, you can see what they are doing to save her, but you cannot go after her." She pointed to the screen, her voice tight. "They are beating her to find _you._ You're only giving in to what they want. If they catch you off guard… don't. Just don't. Please."

Gibbs turned to the screen where Abby was being taunted. A man circled around her, tracing his fingers along her shoulders and neck. He could see her suppress a shudder as she sat stiffly. There was a trickle of blood from her nose and lip and what looked like a cut along her hair line. "I can't sit back and watch, I can't sit back in the office while they've got their hands all over her." He felt a swell of possessiveness and the idea of sitting back to watch her hopefully be rescued wasn't something he thought he could sit through.

Shannon wanted to tell him to think of them, think of their daughter, but she knew that look in his eye, there was nothing that would change his mind.

* * *

Gibbs already knew he would never forgive himself for letting that sick _sonofabitch_ get ahold of her while he was gone. He had been doing nothing but trying to recreate the family life he'd once had while she had been tossed around like a rag doll as they hounded her for information on him - knowing that she was keeping quiet to protect him made his stomach churn. It was even worse to know that the only reason he'd found out was because of them wanting Jack to join them. She could have died and he would've never had known.

He knew that by leaving Shannon and Kelly at NCIS he was driving a wedge between them. Their routine the past few weeks had been easy, and relaxed, but they lived more as roommates than as lovers. He loved her, he always would, but he didn't feel that fire in the pit of his stomach when he crawled into bed beside her. And when she had asked him not go, his first reaction was to be angry rather than understanding.

Local cops and the FBI were already on scene when Gibbs pulled up outside the old, abandoned house. They were just getting ready to go in, when Fornell waved him over, glared and handed him a bullet proof vest. There was no time to argue.

* * *

Although she was drifting somewhere on the verge of unconsciousness, Abby picked up the slightest scrape of the door against the floor as it opened. "You're back already," she slurred. "Just pull the trigger. I don't know where he is… you're wasting both of our time." She tried to focus on any bit of sound she picked up, and managed to follow the footsteps as whoever circled around to the front. "When one sense is taken away, the others are heightened. I can hear the blood rushing through your veins, you're nervous. You're either on the verge of chickening out on killing me or you're worried that maybe I do know where he is and you'd be making a mistake." She swayed a bit on the chair she was tied to and then sat a little straighter when she heard him move closer. "But let me do _you_ a favor. I don't know where he is, so get it over with. I'm bored." The slight tremble in her voice betrayed the confidence she was trying to project.

She gasped when a hand came to rest lightly on her shoulder.

"I'm going to take your blindfold off, okay?"

As the fabric was pulled away from her eyes, Abby blinked against the bright lights and gazed up at Gibbs. "You still smell like saw dust. You have a basement at your new house?"

Gibbs smiled at the absurdity of her question and dropped to one knee to cut her wrists and ankles free with the knife he pulled from his belt.

"No!" Abby protested as soon as she realized what he was doing. "You have to get out of here. If they find you, they'll kill you. They'll go after your family, you have to leave."

Gibbs shook his head. "I'm not leaving you here. FBI is outside dealing with everyone." Gibbs cut through the last of the rope securing her wrists.

"Alejandro…. He left over an hour ago. He's still looking for you, he'll be back and if I'm not here, he'll know that you're back. You have to leave. I won't tell him Gibbs, I won't tell him anything. If I die, your secret will go with me to grave, I promise."

"Hey, look at me." His voice was firm and he waited for her to look him in the eye. "Have I ever walked away from you when you needed me?"

Abby reached out to rest her hand on his shoulder as he cut through the ropes on her ankles. "You've got to worry about… about your family. It's not just you anymore." She used her arm to wipe at the blood on her lip.

"Can you walk?" Gibbs freed her feet from the rope and stood.

"I think so." Abby accepted his outstretched hand and let him pull her to her feet. She swayed and steadied herself when he gripped her elbow.

"I want to help you, but I don't know where you hurt."

Abby looked at him with a sad smile. "Everywhere."

Gibbs was afraid of that, "come on, sooner we get you out of here, sooner we can get something for the pain." He led them forward with his gun, not completely trusting that the FBI had taken care of everyone else in the building. He kept his body between Abby and the men that were on the ground, their hands tied behind their backs as they lay face down, but Abby peered around him to take a look.

"You're not safe," she frowned, "Alejandro isn't one of them."

"One thing at a time, let's get you to the hospital."

Abby shook her head, going to the hospital was out of the question. "No, take me to Ducky, nothing is broken. He'll expect me to go to a hospital."

"Abby-"

"I hurt, Gibbs, but I'm okay. We've got to get back to NCIS."

Gibbs helped her into the car and sped away.

* * *

Despite the FBI officially taking over, there had been no stopping Gibbs when McGee had cracked the location of where Abby was being held. With Gibbs out and having given orders that McGee, Tony and Ziva not take their eyes off of Shannon and Kelly, they all sat in the squad room with Ducky, Palmer and Director Vance watching the live feed they had been given.

For ten minutes they had watched a man circle her, occasionally slapping her across the face, hitting her in the stomach every time she said she didn't know where Gibbs was. He kicked her chair over and she screamed, but luckily the chair took the force of the fall and she avoided hitting her head against the concrete floor. Eventually he tired of her lack of answers. He pulled her chair to the center of the room and left her with the promise to return.

Abby was alone again and her head fell forward as she tried to catch her breath. Her nose was bleeding and she tried to use her shoulder to wipe it away.

"I can't watch this." Tony moved back to his desk, feeling sick at the sight of her being hurt.

Ziva was unable to tear her gaze away from the screen and for a second she felt like she was watching herself back in Somalia.

Shannon and Kelly stood together, unable to speak as they watched her being tossed around like she meant nothing. And it hit Kelly in a way that she couldn't describe to know that this woman was going through it all to keep her and her parents safe.

Vance's phone rang and he listened a moment before hanging up. "FBI is in place. If they are where she is, they should get to her soon."

Tony jumped up to stand in front of the flat screen, running a hand through his hair.

Abby's head was still hanging forward when they saw Gibbs push the door open. They watched as he hesitated at the sight, unsure of how to approach.

"He found her!" Kelly clasped her hands together.

They watched as Abby tensed and then spoke.

"_You're back already," she slurred. "Just pull the trigger. I don't know where he is… you're wasting both of our time." _

They were all impressed when she seemed to track his movement despite being blindfolded.

"_When one sense is taken away, the others are heightened. I can hear the blood rushing through your veins, you're nervous. You're either on the verge of chickening out on killing me or you're worried that maybe I do know where he is and you'd be making a mistake."_

"Say something," Tony ground out, not wanting Abby to be afraid a moment longer.

_She swayed a bit on the chair she was tied to and then sat a little straighter. "But let me do you a favor. I don't know where he is, so get it over with. I'm bored." _

"Oh Jethro," Ducky sighed. He could see the conflict on Gibbs' face.

"_I'm going to take your blindfold off, okay?" Gibbs' hands were trembling as he gently untied the blindfold and dropped it to the ground._

"_You still smell like saw dust. You have a basement at your new house?"_

"New house?" Tony spun around to look at Vance and then Shannon and Kelly. "Has Abby known where he's been this whole time?"

"I…" Vance's eyes went wide and he shook his head. "If she has-"

Shannon cleared her throat. "Yes. He said that she's the one that found us."

"She never…" Tony trailed off when Abby spoke again.

"_No!" Abby protested as soon as Gibbs started to free her. "You have to get out of here. If they find you, they'll kill you. No one knows they are still alive. They'll go after your family, you have to leave."_

"You've got to be kidding me," Tony ran his hands through his hair again, trying to keep himself from putting his fist through the half wall. Everyone knew Abby had a soft spot for Gibbs (as he did her), but this was beyond anything he could comprehend.

"_Alejandro…. He left over an hour ago. He's still looking for you, he'll be back and if I'm not here, he'll know that you're back. You have to leave. I won't tell him Gibbs, I won't tell him anything. If I die, your secret will go with me to grave, I promise."_

Tony glanced over his shoulder at Shannon and Kelly. "If you haven't met her in person that, right there, pretty much sums her up. She would do _anything_ for him."

"Anthony…" Ducky stepped up beside him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Not the time nor place."

"What?" He pointed back at the screen. "Listen to her, she's telling him to leave her there."

"_You've got to worry about… about your family. It's not just you anymore." She used her arm to wipe at the blood on her lip._

"_Can you walk?" Gibbs freed her feet from the rope and stood._

"He won't leave her there." Ducky said

"I know that." Tony couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. "But she shouldn't _be_ there."

"_I think so." Abby accepted his outstretched hand and let him pull her to her feet. She swayed and steadied herself when he gripped her elbow. _

"_I want to help you, but I don't know where you hurt."_

_Abby looked at him with a sad smile. "Everywhere."_

Minutes later Tony's phone rang. He listened for a minute, and then with a quick 'okay' he hung up and looked at everyone. "He's bringing her here; she doesn't want to go to the hospital. Alejandro wasn't with the rest of the men that had her. She thinks he'd look for her at a hospital first, so he's bringing her here. She says nothing is broken, and that Ducky should be able to patch her up."

"Of course, I'll go set up what I think I'll need. Mr. Palmer…?"

"Right behind you doctor." Palmer followed him to the elevator.

"Ziva…" Tony nodded for her to follow. The building was nearly on lockdown, but Tony didn't want to take any risks.

They didn't have to wait long before the elevator doors opened and Gibbs led Abby out.

"Abby!" Tony rushed forward, but held back from wrapping her in a tight hug, not wanting to hurt her more than she already was. She looked at him with a weak smile and there was something in her eyes, a similar look that he had seen when he first saw Ziva in Somalia; A look that showed just how much she had prepared for and accepted her impending death.

Gibbs nudged her forward toward the back elevator. "Come on, let's get you to Ducky."

Abby kept her eyes on the ground as she shuffled forward, but brought her gaze up to look at Shannon and Kelly as she passed, a small smile on her face. Shannon looked the same as the photo she had seen in Gibbs basement two years ago, and Kelly looked so much like her father, if Abby had seen her on the street she would've done a double take. The blue eyes gave her away.

Everyone except Vance followed them to the back elevators. He promised to keep Gibbs updated if they found Alejandro.

The elevator ride was quiet as they made their way down to autopsy. Ducky met them when the doors opened and took Abby by the hand. "I hope you don't mind, Ziva searched your lab for something for you to change into. It's not the most fashionable, but until we can get something from your apartment, it'll do. But first," he led her to one of the tables and motioned for Tony and Gibbs to help her up to sit.

"If you don't mind…" Ducky looked at the crowd. He had asked for Palmers assistance, to get everything ready, but had sent him out as soon as he was ready.

"We'll… we'll be right outside." Tony watched as Ziva, McGee, Shannon and Kelly turned to leave.

"I'll turn around, but I'm not leaving," he said through gritted teeth.

Ducky looked to Abby to see if she had anything to say on the topic, but she was just staring straight ahead so Gibbs held his place standing beside the table.

"My dear, I think the easiest would be for me to cut your shirt off. Is that okay?"

Abby nodded and worked with Ducky as he cut the bloodied garment from her body. He left her bra alone to give her a bit of privacy, but it too would need to be trashed. He grimaced at the angry bruises that were mottled across her arms, and stomach.

To his credit, Gibbs said nothing as he watched Ducky sponge the dried blood off her body so he could better examine the cuts.

"You've lucked out, my dear. You're injuries could have-"

"You call this lucked out, Duck?" Gibbs finally spoke up and moved closer. He reached up and brushed the hair from Abby's face, grimacing when he realized part of it was caked to her face with blood.

Ducky was blunt with his response. "She could be dead, Jethro." He understood that having his wife and daughter back were beyond any miracle he could ever imagine, but at the same time Ducky was hurt that he hadn't been let in on the secret. If Abby hadn't been put in this situation, Ducky never would have known that Gibbs was happy again. He would have assumed that Gibbs had run away like the last time with no regard to the feelings over the other people in his life.

"Abby… I never meant…" He had never wanted to walk away from her in the first place, but it had been his only choice to see Shannon and Kelly again.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." Her eyes stayed closed as Ducky continued to wipe the damp sponge over her skin.

Gibbs opened his mouth to speak, but the doors slid open and Tony stood in the doorway. "Uh boss… the director called. They may have a lead on Alejandro. He wants you up in MTAC."

Gibbs looked at Abby and then to Ducky.

"She can rest here awhile," Ducky said.

"Vance said you could bring her up to the sofa in his office when you're done. It'll be more comfortable than the tables." Tony side-stepped around Gibbs and picked up Abby's hand, "how you doin' sweetheart? Is there anything I can get for you?"

"I've been worse…"

"You have?"

Abby thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No, but isn't that what people say in the movies?"

He brought her hand up to his lips and then smiled at her. "When this is over, once I put an end to the bastard that did this to you, I'm taking you out to dinner and a movie. Anywhere you want to go, any movie you want to see."

"Can't wait," she smiled weakly.

"Boss..?" Tony headed for the door and waited for Gibbs to follow.

* * *

As soon as he was satisfied that none of her wounds were life-threatening, Ducky handed her some clean clothes and escorted her up to Vance's office. His secretary was waiting, and as soon as Abby was comfortable, she went in search of a Caf-Pow! and something for her to eat. Ducky watched as Abby struggled to find a comfortable position, but once she had, her eyes fluttered closed and she was fast asleep within minutes.

Ziva arrived not long after with the Caf-Pow! and food from Vance's secretary. "Shannon and Kelly are in the squad room with McGee and Tony is with Gibbs in MTAC. How is she?"

Ducky looked over at the sleeping woman and shrugged. "I believe you will better at judging that than I will. Physically she will be fine in a week or so, but it's not the physical bruising I'm concerned about."

"What else did they do, has she said anything?"

"No," Ducky shrugged. "But I worry about what's going through her mind. She's spent more than two weeks pretending not to know where he's been – a very good job, I might add, none of us suspected she knew anything. She was beat while he was with… with his family."

"She is stronger than I ever imagined," Ziva sat on the edge of the couch and looked down at the sleeping woman. "And she loves harder than I have ever seen."

"Which is what worries me. She was ready to die in there to keep him safe while he was living his happy family life. I don't want to deny him his family, but…" Ducky sighed sadly. "I don't know what to say."

"I think she will surprise us all again. She might need a little extra support, but once Alejandro is dead, she will heal."

"Dead?" Ducky raised his brows. "I thought the FBI and NCIS were working together to bring him in."

Ziva shrugged, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Perhaps… but I guess it depends on who finds him first. Because I know that Tony, Tim and myself would prefer to put a bullet in him. I'm sure Gibbs feels the same and I would think Fornell is at that point as well."

"I can't say I wish him a better fate."

Standing, Ziva took one last look at Abby and headed for the door. "I'm going to see how things are going, if they are any closer to Alejandro."

"Keep me informed."

"Of course."

Ducky watched as Ziva left and then leaned back in his chair to watch Abby sleep. She slept for a good two hours before startling awake with a gasp. "Easy Abigail, it's alright. You're safe."

"Ducky…" She struggled to sit, but waved away his attempt to help. "I'm just a little stiff. How long was I asleep?"

"About two hours."

"Oh…okay. Any news?"

"I'm afraid not. Here," he went to the mini fridge in the corner of the office. "The director's secretary went for one of these as soon as you were brought in." He handed her the Caf-Pow! and then held up a bagel with cream cheese and a small bag of pretzels. "How about a bite to eat?"

Abby reached for the Caf-Pow! but shook her head at the food.

"You need something in your stomach besides the drink. Bagel or pretzels."

"Pretzels." She was hesitant to eat, her stomach still a ball of nerves, but once she had a few, she realized she was hungry and she finished the bag quickly. Ducky offered the bagel, but she turned it down.

He sat down beside her and she leaned into his outstretched arms. "I'm sorry I lied."

"I… I understand. It wasn't your lie."

"He got his family back, and… and… I probably would've told you eventually. He was working with the witness protection program for an excuse to leave NCIS, maybe retire and then disappear. Once that was settled, I would've told you, but until then… things were so unsettled. And if Alejandro thought you knew… I couldn't put everyone else at risk, too."

"I understand that and I would have done the same, but I'll admit to feeling hurt that _he_ couldn't trust me with the secret about his family."

"I don't think he didn't trust you, I think he didn't really believe it was real. Even when he left, I think he was just in shock."

"How did he find them, how-"

"Actually," Abby sighed. "I found them."

"You?"

She nodded. "I was a little drunk and had been watching movies all day and just playing around," she glanced up at Ducky with a smile, "okay, hacking. I don't know, things just sort of fell together. He didn't believe me at first, but then I went ahead and contacted the program and… one thing led to another and-" They both looked up when the office door opened.

"Abbs…" Gibbs pulled the door closed behind him as he stepped into the office.

"I'm guessing you're not here to tell me that they've caught him."

Gibbs shook his head and walked over to sit on the coffee table facing her. Hesitantly he reached out and picked up her hand, wrapping both of his around it. He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss over her knuckles and then dropped his head further to let out a shuddering sigh.

"Gibbs…?"

"Duck, can you give us a minute?"

Abby nodded when Duck opened his mouth to ask if she'd be okay.

Gibbs waited until they were alone. "How?" He lifted his head to look at her, keeping her hand in his. "What happened?"

"My alarm went off – the one on my phone. I got up and took a quick shower. Once I was dressed I headed out to the kitchen. I was going to start the coffee and then grab the newspaper and make breakfast. I was walking past the living room and then someone wrapped a hand over my mouth and someone else grabbed my arms." She glanced down. "I tried to shake them off, tried everything that Ziva has taught me about fighting, but they were too strong. They put tape over my mouth and tied my hands and then put a big winter coat over me and pulled the hood down and walked me out to their car. Alejandro was inside."

"And then what…?"

"They drove me to… wherever that was and… this." She pulled away from his hold to motion at the bruises and the small cut on her lip.

"Did they…" he cleared his throat, "do anything else?"

"Gibbs…" Abby reached out to touch his shoulder. "They didn't rape me, if that's what you're asking. They threatened a few times, but Alejandro wouldn't let them."

"Okay… okay." It was a small relief within the whole situation. "I'll write up a basic statement and bring it back for you to read over, make any changes and then sign." He got up and went to Vance's desk for a notepad and pen. "Why don't you make a quick list of anything you need from your apartment. I'll send DiNozzo right over."

Abby took the paper and pen when Gibbs sat across from her again and scribbled a few basics – her toiletries, something comfortable to wear, the magazines on her coffee table that she hadn't read yet. She looked up when the office door opened again.

"Dad? Oh… sorry, I uh…" Kelly hesitated in the doorway.

"I'll be right there." He gave her a look, indicating she should wait out in the hall and then turned back to Abby. "Anything else you need? Are you hungry?" He stood, but hesitated before heading to the door.

"No, Ducky already had me eat something. I'll be okay," she watched as he headed out. He was almost to the door when she spoke again. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"She looks like you."

A soft smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I know."

* * *

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

This one is a bit longer – enjoy!

* * *

Gibbs found Kelly waiting outside and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "What do you need?"

"Sorry, I thought she was asleep, I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"It's okay." He gave her shoulder a squeeze.

Kelly nodded. "Um, one of your agents said we would be setting up in the conference room for a night or two," she pointed down the hall where they could see Shannon talking to McGee. "But we don't have our suitcases and you've got the keys to the car."

Gibbs followed her to the room where Shannon, McGee and Ziva were pushing the table to the side to make room for the two cots that were being set up. "Ziva," he dug his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to her. "Their stuff is in the trunk of the rental in my old parking space."

"Got it." She caught the keys and headed out.

"McGee, you seen DiNozzo?"

"At his desk, I think."

"I've got a list of things Abby wants from her apartment; will you get it to him? I need to check in with the FBI." He handed McGee the paper and headed back down the hall with a squeeze to Kelly's shoulder.

"Come on," McGee waved them with. "Even though the building is secure, you're supposed to have an agent with you at all times." He led them back to the squad room where Tony was pacing in front of the TV screen, Alejandro's photo front and center. He pointed them to an extra desk with a computer. "You can surf the net." He held out the paper to Tony. "Boss wants you to get these things from Abby's apartment."

Tony read over the items scribbled in Abby's familiar handwriting and nodded. He had her keys in his desk drawer and with them in his pocket he slipped his jacket on and grabbed his gun. "If I'm lucky I'll run into the asshole that did this while I'm there." He was gone before McGee could answer.

"Who is this Alejandro guy?" Kelly asked, her inner journalist wanting all the details.

"The man who tried to kill you, it's his son."

"But why does he want to hurt my dad so badly?"

McGee thought for a moment – it wasn't exactly his place to tell, but at the same time, it had become more than just Gibbs' problem when Abby had become so involved. "Uh, well…"

Gibbs strode into the squad room with Fornell. "Shan, Kelly… this is Tobias Fornell, he works for the FBI. Tobias…"

"Good to meet you." Fornell held his hand out to both women and smiled. After introductions, Fornell turned to Gibbs. "Is Abby up for a visitor? I know you've got the basic of her report, but if there are any details she could add to it? Plus, I'd really like to see her."

"She's in Vance's office, I'll walk you up."

"I would like to see her as well, if she's feeling up to it." Shannon spoke up. She had heard so much about the woman from the three agent's on Gibbs' team, but had only gotten to see her briefly and hadn't spoken to her at all. She had questions for the woman that had Gibbs running home without a second thought. Her anger had faded at the sight of Abby being tossed around while hiding their secret, offering her own life to keep Gibbs safe.

Gibbs stared at her a moment and shook his head. "Probably not a good idea, maybe later."

"Okay," she agreed. "Tell her I hope she's feeling better soon."

"I will."

* * *

"You know, I always thought my dad would end up with someone like mom, have that happy family life again, with a kid or two. At first I was jealous, but then as I got older I hoped he had a new family like I did. I can't say I ever would have guessed that he had fallen for someone younger than him, with black hair and tattoos, but you know… in some strange way, it kind of fits." Kelly had wheeled over to McGee's desk, tired of just sitting around.

"They… they weren't… aren't together." McGee said, fidgeting in his seat.

Kelly laughed, her blue eyes sparkling. "I don't believe it."

"Kel…" Shannon shook her head. It wasn't something to laugh about. The realization that he really had been miserable the past 18 years while they had moved on with their lives was painful to accept.

"What?" Kelly shrugged. "Can you honestly say you didn't expect dad to fall for someone? I mean-"

"I wasn't lying, they were never_... together_."

"If there was nothing between them, then why is everyone going out of their way to keep mom and I away from her?" She couldn't help but let her inner journalist out to play. She was driven for the details and it just didn't make sense.

"Well," McGee thought for a moment. "It's complicated. They were never together, but I think it more or less had to do with his rules than anything else. Abby and I… we… dated, but it didn't last long because she was so in love with him – not that she would ever really admit it. But he would never break his infamous rule 12-"

"Never date a co-worker?" Shannon finished.

"Uh, yeah… how did you know?"

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter." She couldn't believe he'd taught his team those silly rules.

"Well, anyway, it really hurt that she broke up with me because she was in love with someone she couldn't have. But in the end, I could kind of understand and I didn't want to be second best to her. And in the end I guess I could see the beauty in it. The last few years she's been content to love him from a distance."

"She found us though, why keep her away from us? I'd like to talk to her." Shannon asked. "We spent the past two weeks telling him everything we could think of about our lives the past 18 years. We just want to know about his."

"Unspoken rule zero."

Kelly looked to Shannon for clarification. "We… we don't know that one, do we?" Shannon had told her about her rules, citing that everyone needed a code to live by. She had given Kelly a few examples, but encouraged her to come up with her own. Coffee flavored ice cream once a week had been her favorite.

"Keep Abby safe," McGee told them. "She's had her fair share of crazy stalkers, ex-boyfriends and more than once she's been targeted because of someone Gibbs has put away. He's got you guys back now, so I think we've all just been trying to keep her away from your happy ever after."

"But why? If she wants him to be happy…"

"She wants him happy more than anything," Tony strolled in, "and she got the shit beat out of her because of it, so no offense, but I want her as far away from his happy family life as possible."

"Tony," McGee snapped. "It's not their fault. Alejandro doesn't even know they're still alive."

"No, it's not their fault, and I don't blame them," he turned to the two women. "Really, I don't. But Abby has been lying about where he's been, and people were ready to kill her over those lies. Abby doesn't lie, ever… except for him. Remember when we all thought she was a terrorist? She lied, because of him. Remember when she lied about her ex? She lied because she didn't want Gibbs to freak out." Tony yanked open his desk drawer and tossed her apartment keys inside. "I'm bringing this stuff up to Abby."

McGee waited until Tony was out of sight. "He's taken it worse than the rest of us. He didn't exactly have a happy family life growing up and Abby and Gibbs are the closest he's got to family these days. I think he was hurt by Gibbs leaving and then the fact that Abby was hurt and… he's not usually so… angry."

"It's okay, I get where he's coming from. I can't say I was thrilled about getting pulled into this mess either, though I suppose I've been involved from the start; I didn't want him to come back at first, but now… I understand," Shannon looked to Kelly for confirmation, "We both do."

* * *

As evening settled in at NCIS, Abby felt as though the office had revolving doors – everyone wanting to visit, bring food, and Caf-Pow! She had trouble sleeping, every time she dozed off she dreamt about being tied to the chair again, and when she was awake her thoughts always drifted back to Gibbs and how his first two weeks with his family had gone. She felt guilty for pulling him away from rebuilding his family even if deep down she knew she hadn't done it on purpose.

Although the team, Gibbs, and Fornell came and went over the course of the day, Abby was most interested in talking to Shannon and Kelly. Her curiosity out-weighed her own self-pity at having no chance with Gibbs, and she was curious as to why the two women hadn't come up. She knew they were being forced to stay in the building, but beyond that no one wanted to mention their names.

Tony pushed open the door and wheeled in her futon from her lab. "I thought you'd rather spend the night on this rather than the couch. It'll give you the chance to stretch out a bit and be more comfortable."

"Still no news?"

Tony looked at her and shook his head. "Nothing yet, and trust me, you'll be the first to know."

Abby struggled to get to her feet and carried her pillow toward the futon.

"Need anything?"

"Nah, Ziva helped me in the shower earlier. I just want to sleep."

Tony reached out to steady her as she made her way toward her futon and lay down. Once she was comfortable Tony sat down beside her. "I can't believe you knew where he was the whole time."

"I didn't know where exactly, but I had a vague idea."

"A way to contact him?" He glanced over at her.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Burn phone."

"We searched your place once we found out you were gone and couldn't find a number anywhere. Did Alejandro find it?"

"You think I wrote it down?" She rattled off the number he had given her. "No evidence."

"I can't believe it… he was just going to disappear."

"We were going to come up with a good, believable story." It wouldn't have made the hurt and feeling of abandonment and less painful, but she would have done the best she could to ease the team into a life without Gibbs.

"I would've found out eventually." He rolled his eyes at the look of disbelief on her face. "Oh come on, you were miserable when he left for Mexico without a goodbye. You wouldn't have been able to fake it so well. If you knew he was off and happy somewhere, your grief would have been for yourself and not him."

"Maybe." Abby pulled the blanket up a little tighter under her chin. "But anyway, I'm tired."

"We'll be in the squad room."

"Thank you…. Hey Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"You never commented about Ziva helping me in the shower… didn't want to join us? No crude jokes?"

Tony hesitated before opening the door, looking back at her with a smile. "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Me too."

"And next time, shower with me instead." He gave a playful wink and was out the door.

* * *

It took another two days of Gibbs avoiding taking her to see Abby before Shannon decided to go up without him. She hesitated outside the door to the office where Abby was staying, unsure of what to say or how welcoming the woman would be to seeing her, but from what she had learned about her – mostly from the other agents rather than Gibbs – Abby was a warm and welcoming woman and liked almost everyone.

She knocked softly, but heard nothing so she pushed the door open. There was music playing, or rather noise coming from the headphones Abby was wearing. She was situated in front of a large mirror her shirt pulled up as she tried to examine the bruises spread across her ribs.

Their eyes met in the mirror and Abby startled, yanking her headphone off and pulled her shirt down. "Oh!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean… I knocked, but didn't hear a response, so… "

"No, no it's okay. You just startled me, is all." She fiddled with her iPod and switched it off. "Um, did you need something?"

Shannon shook her head. "I just wanted to talk to you. No one knew we were in hiding, not even the man after us and then after all this time… you found us. I'm just curious."

Abby shrugged and moved back to the leather sofa and sat down, motioning for Shannon to sit as well. "I dunno, I guess it's the way my brain works. I had a bit more wine than I should have and was watching a movie about the witness protection program and I guess some other things, and I just… got curious."

"Did he ask you to keep searching?"

"No," she shook her head emphatically. "He didn't even know I was searching. It was late and like I said, a little… or a lot of wine and… Yeah. I went to him the next day and he didn't want to believe it at first, but once I get something in my mind, I just can't stop sometimes, you know?"

"I just… why'd you do it? Why did you work so hard to find us? Agent McGee told us that you and Gibbs were never… involved, but I can't help but think..?"

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice for the person you love. It's not always easy, and sometimes it hurts, but it's a good hurt." She admitted honestly. "It wasn't easy to watch him walk away at the airport and know that I would have to lie to the rest of the team, but we're family and I got to give him something that no one else could, so… in the end, I'm okay with that. Life has not been kind or easy on him. He deserves a happy ending. And McGee was telling the truth, there was never anything _more_ between us. We were never more than friends."

"Kind of like that whole 'if you love someone set them free' sort of thing?"

Abby nodded.

Shannon twisted her fingers in her lap. "He came running back to you without a second thought."

Abby shook her head. "He felt guilty, which he shouldn't have. It wasn't his fault. Wrong place, wrong time."

"At your apartment?"

A small smile pulled at the corner of Abby's lips. "Minor detail. But really, it wasn't because he left to find you guys that I was targeted. I probably still would've been… I'm the easiest target on the team. If not me, then it would have been Ducky. No one would be dumb enough to try Ziva and both Tony and Tim are much stronger than I am, but it doesn't matter, it's over."

"It's not over if we're hiding out in a federal building."

"I know, you never should have been brought back into this mess." Abby thought for a moment. "The FBI can get you out of here, you can go back into hiding. I doubt Alejandro knows you're still alive, he's not after you. He want's Gibbs for killing his father, Pedro Hernandez, the man that supposedly killed you."

"Is… is that why they want him? I figured it was about a case or something."

"Alejandro showed up a while back and sweet talked the director into letting me teach a forensics course in Mexico – something about them wanting to learn the newest techniques. So I went and they gave me a cold case, one that had sat on the shelf for nearly 20 years. I didn't think anything of it until I searched the victim's name. He had been suspected in your murder and at that point I knew something was hinky. Long story short, I was given evidence that Gibbs had killed him. I played it like I needed my own equipment and brought it back to my lab." Abby glanced away and her voice quieted. "I tampered with the evidence so they couldn't match it to his sniper rifle. I told Alejandro I was at a dead end, and I even called in an outside forensic specialist to prove that it wasn't a match. I think he was suspicious, but he dropped the case and we never heard from him again. Well, until he had his goons pick me up."

"He would have gone to jail for murder, wouldn't he?"

"He would've been brought to a Mexican prison, but Alejandro would have killed him before he ever saw the inside of a court room, so there was no way I _couldn't_ tamper with the evidence."

"What if they had caught you?"

Abby shrugged. "My career would've ended, but they would have still had no way to prove that it was Gibbs that killed him, so in the long run I would have rather lost my career than he lost his life."

"I was angry at first," Shannon confessed. She looked down to her folded hands in her lap. "Upset that after 18 years apart, we were finally together again and all it took was a simple phone call for him to leave again."

Abby cocked her head to the side. "Who called you? I told no one about you, I didn't want him to come back for me, I kept-"

"We were going to have Jackson join the program, wanted him to come to Nebraska, but when Mr. Evans tried to contact him, Jack already knew you were missing. It was Evans that called us."

"Wait, Jack knows? I didn't even think about him," Abby jumped up, ignoring the flare of pain as her muscles protested. "They need security up in Stillwater, if Alejandro can't get to me, he wouldn't hesitate to go after Jack."

Gibbs rushed in at the sudden commotion, "Abby, what's wrong?" He gripped her shoulders as gently as possible to keep her from pushing past him. "What is it?" He glanced over her shoulder at Shannon and then back to Abby. He had kept Shannon and Kelly away from her to keep her from stressing out too much, and now to find Shannon in the room with Abby as she panicked over something – he had to focus so as not to glare.

Her eyes were wide with fear. "Your dad!"

"Easy Abbs, what about him?"

"Alejandro. It wouldn't be hard for him to find out that Jack is in Stillwater! Call Fornell, get him up-"

"Shh, FBI went up right away. He's been staying in a hotel the past few nights to make sure people had what they needed at the store, but he's on his was down now. He'll be here soon. He's fine; Tony talked to him not long ago. Come on, sit back down. Have you had anything to eat?" Gibbs glanced at the untouched sandwich on the table.

"A few bites."

He raised a brow and she picked up the sandwich, taking a big bite as he watched.

"Where's Kelly?" Shannon asked, breaking Gibbs' focus on Abby, easing some of the tension.

Gibbs went to the mini fridge in the corner of the office and grabbed each of them a bottle of water. "She's down at my desk; Tony and McGee are with her." Gibbs looked from Shannon to Abby and back again, curious as to what they had been talking about.

They were interrupted by a quick knock on the door and Tony peeked in. "Boss, your dad is here." Tony left again, but left the door open.

Gibbs was followed by Shannon and Abby and they looked down on a wide-eyed Jack as he hugged his granddaughter for the first time in 18 years. Abby hesitated as Gibbs and Shannon headed down the stairs together. She watched as Jack looked up, a big smile spreading across his face as Shannon came into view. He pulled her into his arms in a tight hug, not bothering to hide the tears willing up in his eyes. She found herself wondering what Gibbs had looked like when he saw them again for the first time and if he had cried. She was mid-thought when Gibbs caught her eye and waved her down.

She was still a bit slow moving down the steps, but not in near as much pain as the previous few days.

"Abigail," Jack looked up as she approached and stepped away from Shannon and Kelly to pull her into a gentle hug. "Oh darlin'…"

She hated the pained look on his face. "I'm alright, I promise. It looks much worse than it feels. Just a few bruises." She hugged him back, and allowed herself to relax for a moment.

"I've no doubt my son will get who did this to you."

Abby glanced at Gibbs with a shy smile. "You're probably right."

"But it's getting late. We should get you home and into bed, Tony told me you've been spending the past few nights here. You need rest in a real bed."

"They've been staying here," Gibbs said, "because it's safest."

Jack scowled. "I brought my Winchester. We'll be fine back at your place Leroy. I'm sure you could use some rest as well. I can look over her while you get some rest. Abby and I will be just fine. We make a good team."

"I-"

Abby cleared her throat and then spoke. "You guys should all leave. I'm safe and I've no doubt the FBI will find Alejandro. Tony, Ziva and McGee can keep me safe, and with all the chaos with the FBI coming and going, the four of you can disappear again." She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, working hard to keep her voice from wavering. "I doubt he even knows you came back and no one here will say anything."

Shannon stepped around Jack and cupped Abby's face in her hands. "You're part of his family," she nodded back at Gibbs, "which makes you part of my family. We're not going anywhere without you."

"But it's not sa-"

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice for the person you love. Someone smart told me that and I finally get it," Shannon smiled softly. "I get it."

"You should still stay away from me; we don't know where he is or what he's capable of, or what..." she trailed off when the elevator doors opened and a familiar face appeared. "Mike!"

Everyone turned in time to see Mike Franks stroll out of the elevator. "Hey pretty lady, I heard you could use a little help."

"I called him." Tony said, holding his hand out to shake hands with Franks as he passed. "I figured we could use all the help we can get."

"Do I get the honor of protecting this beautiful young woman?" Mike gently wrapped an arm around Abby and smiled big at Gibbs. "Because I'd hate to think I came all this way to take orders from the FBI."

"Gibbs you should take your family to a hotel, don't go back to your house with Alejandro still on the loose. Mike can stay with me at my place."

"Whoa, wait just a minute. Probie's family?" Mike suddenly registered Shannon and Kelly standing there and looked them over before giving Gibbs a questioning look. "I thought…"

"Long story," Gibbs mostly ignored him and stood in front of Abby. "You're safest here at NCIS."

"I can't sleep in Vance's office forever. I need a bed, my bed. Your dad was right, I need to get out of here."

"She's right, boss. McGee, Ziva and I will head over first and secure her apartment, sweep it for bugs and clean up. Once it's safe, Franks can drive her home and we'll assign two agents outside her door. Same with you, take your family to that hotel near the river. We'll find a couple agents to keep an eye on the hotel as well."

"We'll all go to the hotel. I don't want her back at her apartment until that _sonofabitch_ is caught."

Tony thought for a moment and then nodded. "I'll call and see if I can't get the suite on the top floor. It'll be easier to have guards outside if it's just one unit." It didn't take him long to secure a large suite in a swanky hotel downtown. Security was already high due to the big names that came and went from the hotel, but the hotel staff was willing to work with them and had no problem blocking off rooms on either side and was okay with agents at the door.

They were permitted to use a secret entrance and they were tucked away within minutes of arrival. Shannon and Kelly were exhausted and drifted off toward one of the rooms, while Jack brought his bag to another. Abby claimed the last room, leaving Gibbs and Mike chatting in the living room while she went to change. Jack was back out in the living room talking to his son when she returned.

"How you doin' darlin'?" Mike held out a hand to her and was genuinely surprised when she chose to curl up next to him instead of next to Gibbs. He had only gotten the barebones of how Abby had found Shannon and Kelly, but he had always seen something between Gibbs and Abby, so her decision to sit with him clued him in to some of the tension.

"Tired, a little sore and tired of hiding, but otherwise, I'm okay. How're you? How're your girls?" She loved the grin that spread across his face at the mention of his girls. He was another on that deserved a happy ending.

"They are doin' just fine, thank you. I have them staying with Camilla while I'm gone, just in case."

Abby could help the knowing look she gave him. "Seeing a lot of this Camilla woman?"

"Nah," Mike grinned, obviously lying. "She's just good for helping out now and again."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Bullshit."

"Watch your mouth, probie." He glared, but it didn't do much good other than make Abby laugh.

"What's the plan for tomorrow, Gibbs?" Abby asked.

"You guys will go back to NCIS. I've got a few things to talk to Fornell about. I have a few ideas for tracking Alejandro down. And I want to talk to a few of his guys we've got in custody. But for now, you should sleep."

"Yeah, okay." She fought a yawn and stood. "Mike, will you sit with me until I fall asleep? It always takes me longer when I'm somewhere new, and…"

"Of coure."

Gibbs frowned when Franks followed Abby into the bedroom and shut the door. He could hear them talking and then a laugh and then the click of the light being turned off and then everything went silent.

"Leroy," Jack spoke up. "He's not in there making a move on Abby. He's there so that she'll feel safe enough to fall asleep."

"I know that."

"Then why do you look like a jealous lover?"

"I'm not, I don't. Shouldn't you be in bed too? Weren't you up early?" Gibbs nodded down the short hall to the bedroom Jack had been assigned.

"I'm headed there shortly, but son… if your future is with Abby, quit making yourself miserable and do something about it."

Gibbs opened his mouth to tell his father to stay out of it, but his phone rang, so Gibbs let the comment slide and answered. "Yeah, Gibbs." He was disappointed when it was only Tony checking in to see if they needed anything. They didn't, Gibbs had already checked, and all the guards were in place.

"Your dad is right." Shannon said, quietly pulling the door of the bedroom she was sharing with Kelly shut. "18 years is a long time, and I think we both know that we aren't the same people we were. No matter how much we want to go back to the way things were back then, we've both been through too much for that to happen."

"I'll give you two some space. Night son. Goodnight Shannon." Jack looked at them a moment longer before disappearing into his bedroom and pulling the door shut behind him.

"Gibbs… let's not drag this out. I will always love you, we'll always be family, but what that woman has done for you… how do I compete?"

"It's not a competition."

"No, of course not. But Gibbs, you were on the phone for 20 seconds before deciding you were coming back to save her. There was no hesitation, nothing. You didn't even need to think about it. If Kelly and I hadn't come with, there was the chance that we may have never seen you again, but that didn't seem to matter. In that moment, you were coming back for her. And that was final."

"I-"

"Shh... I was angry at first and I feel bad about that now. But after getting to know her, after seeing what she went through for us. For people that she didn't even know? It made me realize that some things, like us, aren't meant to be forever. And let's be honest, you were miserable in Nebraska."

"You think I was miserable?"

Shannon sighed, "Okay, maybe not miserable, but you weren't happy. You need NCIS, you need to work. The house has never been so clean and I know you don't like to clean, so you must've been doing it out of boredom."

"I need to do _something_."

Shannon smiled softly. "You've always needed something. First it was the Marines, now it's NCIS. You've always needed something, to be a part of something. You need to be needed."

"I don't need-" Gibbs bristled. She hadn't been around him for 18 years, she didn't know what he needed. But that was the problem, neither did he.

"I'm not saying you need to make a decision now, not with everything going on, but don't… don't feel like you have to do something because it's what you feel obligated to do. We had our time, and we'll still have our time as a family. But the way I see it, is with Abby by your side. And I'm okay with that."

"Kelly," He owed it to his daughter to have a happy family, even if it was nearly 20 years later. "She needs-"

"Kelly has had a good life so far. It wasn't easy at first, but we've been alright. He wasn't you, but Terry was a good father to her. Things between him and I fizzled out, but he was always there for her and they still speak regularly. You don't need recreate anything, just… just be there. Just be her father now. She's fascinated by Abby, that's all. She doesn't want you to be angry at her for wanting to know Abby, and with everyone trying to keep us away from her the past few days, she doesn't know what to think or say. She doesn't feel threatened or anything, doesn't feel like Abby is getting her attention. She just wants to know her dad. And after all this is settled, probably wants to know what getting a tattoo feels like. And as some point, she'll probably want to write a biography on her."

"It would sure be a book," Gibbs smiled. It would take an entire series to dive into the real depths of who Abby was.

Shannon nodded. "I agree. So please, stop worrying. Go kick agent Franks out of her room, because I know you'll be awake all night wondering what's going on in there. And get some sleep, you look like you're about to fall over."

Gibbs let his gaze fall to the floor and then he nodded. "Goodnight." He waited until Shannon was back in her room before he turned to Abby's door and hesitated before twisting the handle. Franks was sitting on the edge of the bed talking quietly with Abby when Gibbs stepped inside the room.

"Everything okay, probie?"

"Yeah," Gibbs stepped aside and with a sharp nod directed Franks out the door. "Make yourself comfortable."

Mike opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but the look on Gibbs' face told him to keep quiet. He glanced over at Abby with a smile and wave and then was gone, the door shut firmly behind him.

"Any news? I thought I heard your cell phone…?"

Gibbs took Mike's spot on the edge of the bed. "No, it was just DiNozzo checking in. He won't call again tonight unless they find him."

"Gibbs…" she swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, "you know, now would be a good time for you and your family to disappear again. Jack is here…"

"I know." Gibbs nodded.

It would be the hardest thing ever, to watch him walk away again, but it would be the best for him and his family.

"But I'm not leaving without you," he continued. "I'll have someone pack up what you want from your place and we'll all go away for as long as we need to."

Abby's eyes widened and she shook her head. The only thing worse than knowing he was hidden away somewhere with his family was being hidden with them and watching Gibbs move on while she sat back and watched it all unfold. She was willing to take on the heart break of knowing he would never be hers, but to be forced to watch it all unfold with no escape was a misery that she just couldn't put herself through. "Gibbs, I can't… They need me here, if they can't find him, they can use me as bait."

"He'll kill you the first chance he gets."

"No he won't, he wants answers."

"He's a drug dealer that won't hesitate to put a bullet through your brain. I won't let that happen."

"Neither will Tony or Ziva or Tim. I just need to be able to draw him out of wherever he's hiding and-"

"No."

"I can't hide for the rest of my life. You've got Shannon and Kelly and even Jack. The four of you can disappear and have a happy life together, but I… I can't do it, Gibbs. I won't."

She was still tired and hurt and stressed out, so he decided to drop it for the night, deciding a good night of sleep would hopefully clear her mind. He knew he couldn't force her into the program, but there was no way he would let her set herself up as bait. "Okay, get some sleep,"

Gibbs moved to the chair beside her bed and made himself comfortable.

Abby closed her eyes and listened to Gibbs move around, expecting the door to open and then shut. When she saw him curled up on the chair beside her bed, his eyes closed she barely managed a whisper. "Shouldn't you go back to Shannon's room?"

"No."

"Okay." She decided to leave it at that and closed her eyes again to focus on sleeping. The moment her eyes closed, the dreams began. At first she was just reliving her whole ordeal, but soon she was watching Gibbs in her place as a faceless man hit him repeatedly, his lip and eyelid swelling out of control.

Gibbs woke at the first sound of a whimper to see Abby thrashing around, her legs twisted in the sheets. "Abby…" He didn't want to grab hold of her too hard. Although she had said she wasn't hurting as bad, the bruises were still there. "Abbs!"

"No no no no…" she pulled out of his loose grasp and struggled to sit up against the headboard, her breath coming in short gasps.

"Easy… you're okay. It was just a nightmare." He kept his distance not wanting to startle her more than she already was. "Abby?"

She let out a heavy sigh and pressed her palm to her chest just above her heart. "I… They had you this time, and I was watching."

Finally sure that she was calming down, Gibbs sat on the edge of the bed again and picked up her hand. "They won't get me and they sure as hell won't get you again. Why don't you lay back down again, it's only just past two."

She settled back and watched as Gibbs moved back to the chair beside her bed. If things had been different, she would've asked him to stay in the bed with her so she could draw comfort from his arms. But with his wife and daughter just down the hall, she decided it wasn't an option. The next time she opened her eyes, it was just after five. Gibbs was asleep in the chair beside her bed so she was quiet as she pulled back the blankets and crept from the room. Mike and Jack were both awake and sitting at the table beside the kitchenette.

"Mornin' pretty lady," Mike smiled at her.

"How're you feeling?" Jack added.

"Morning, I'm alright. Any more of that," she pointed to the coffee cups in front of them.

"Of course, sit down. I'll get it for you." Mike started to get up.

"No," Abby stopped him. "I can get it myself." She poured the last of the coffee into a cup and started a fresh pot – it wouldn't be long before Gibbs was up, and after a night spent sleeping in a chair, if he didn't have coffee in his hand first thing, they would all pay the price.

"My son isn't up yet?"

"Not yet," she carried the coffee back to the table and sat beside Mike and across from Jack. "But I'm sure he'll need coffee even more than usual. He can't be comfortable in that chair." She missed the frown on Jack's face. "So what's the plan for the day?"

Mike shrugged. "All I know is that I'm supposed to keep an eye on you. Can't say I've ever been assigned a better job," he winked.

"Can't say I've ever had a better job either," Jack chimed in, a teasing grin on his face.

"You two…" Abby wagged her finger at both of them, but trailed off when she saw Shannon in the doorway. "Morning."

"Morning." She smiled at the three and then headed for the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.

"Gibbs is still asleep. In the chair," she added for good measure, "if you're wondering where he is."

"In the chair? I hope he doesn't have too much of a kink in his neck. But I guess he needs the sleep, so…" She shrugged and then carried her cup to join them at the table. "Kelly is still asleep too."

"She never was a morning person, was she." Jack commented.

"No," Shannon laughed. "But I can't say that I am either." She could remember Jack being impatient for Kelly to wake up. He loved having her in the store, and it was nearly lunch by the time Shannon would bring her in. Shannon had never been a morning person either, though the last few days she'd had trouble sleeping more than a few hours at a time.

Gibbs was up before long, and as predicted, he headed right for the coffee pot, stretching his neck as he walked. The four at the table already shared a glance, trying desperately not to laugh.

"You have something to say?" Gibbs grumbled before snagging a section of the newspaper from his father.

"No." They all echoed.

"Good."

Eventually Kelly joined them, taking a seat next to Jack, much to the older man's delight. "Oh, Dad… this was in my suitcase. You didn't grab it in your hurry to pack, but I thought you might want it so I grabbed it off the nightstand. I meant to give it to you earlier, but…" Kelly pulled the small object from her pocket and placed it on the table, halfway between her father and Abby, her eyes darting between the two.

They both stared at it a moment before Gibbs smiled and picked it up, slipping it into his pocket. He looked over at Abby, but her eyes were still fixed on where it had been on the table, her expression blank. Jack eventually broke the silence, asking if room service was out of the question. Gibbs just rolled his eyes and said they would have breakfast back at NCIS.

They sat around until they got a call from Tony. He was sending two cars to bring them in to NCIS. They had a hit on a BOLO with a possible sighting of Alejandro near the Mexican embassy, though the embassy claimed he hadn't been in the building.

Once they were all showered and dressed for the day, they sat around waiting for the cars to arrive.

"Mike… can I talk to you for a sec?" Abby tugged at his jacket sleeve.

"Sure darlin'." He followed her away from the group, curious as to what she had to say. "What can I do for you?"

Abby glanced back over her shoulder at Gibbs as he stood talking to Shannon and Jackson, his arm wrapped around Kelly. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Mike. "I need a favor…"

A slow smile spread across Mike's face. "Of course."

* * *

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"Where's Abbs?" Gibbs jogged down the steps and came around to the middle of the squad room. Abby had been up in the director's office most of the morning with Mike while the Director spent most of the day in MTAC, leaving her a quiet place to rest. At Gibbs' request they weren't allowing her back in the lab until Alejandro was in custody – both he and Tony remembering how her window had been shot out by Ari.

McGee looked up from his desk. "She isn't in Vance's office? She hasn't come through the squad room…" He looked over to Gibbs' desk where Kelly was sitting at the desk and Shannon was on a chair pulled up beside it.

"Ziva?" Gibbs hesitated in the middle of the room, his stomach churning. She wasn't allowed in the lab, but he hoped…

"I have not seen her either. Have you checked her lab? I know she isn't supposed to be down there, but perhaps Franks took her down to collect a few personal things? Maybe Tony is with them," she pointed to his empty desk.

"Dad?" Kelly didn't like the way Gibbs was visibly worried.

"S'alright Kel." He turned to his agents. "I'll check the lab, but call me if she comes through before I'm back." He opted for the stairs and took them two at a time down to her lab, his hand on his gun as he pushed the door to the stairwell open. The floor was quiet, and as he rounded the corner he saw her stand-in moving around in the lab – with much less efficiency than Abby, Gibbs noted. "Has Abby been in?"

The lab tech startled and spun around. "A-agent Gibbs! You startled me. Now I know why Abby wants to put a bell on you."

"Abby. Have you seen her?"

"Seen her? No. She called down a few hours ago, said she was sending Vance's secretary to pick up some personal stuff from her desk. She came down, grabbed whatever it was Abby wanted and was gone again."

"Do you know what it was?"

"No," she shook her head. "She just wanted to give me the heads up that someone would be coming down and going through her desk in the back office. Is everything okay?"

Gibbs ignored her and headed for the back office and yanked open the desk drawer to see if he could recognize anything that was gone. He rolled his eyes at the amount of candy and small toys and trinkets in the drawer, between her and DiNozzo they could open a small shop. With nothing to go on, Gibbs headed back to the elevator. "Call me if you see her and tell her I need to talk to her."

"Got it!"

He took the elevator up to the squad room again, he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Tony as he came out of the men's room. "Oh hey boss, Abby told me to give this to you," he held out an envelope.

Gibbs snatched it from the younger man's hands and tore it open. At the first sight of her familiar handwriting Gibbs knew in his gut that she was gone.

_Gibbs,_

_First of all, I'm fine and I'm totally safe – I promise. So don't worry._

_I've been able to do a lot of thinking the past few days and I've come to realize that I can't always depend on you. You've always been there for me any time I've needed you and I appreciate that more than you'll ever know, but you've got a family again and I feel like by staying around NCIS I'm making you stay too. I can't do that to you._

_Mike isn't bound by the same rules like you – he's retired after all… oh, but don't tell Vance that. We told him we'd play by the rules. You probably aren't thrilled, but I know you trust Mike. And I trust Mike, so we'll be okay. He knows a safe place to take me and we're going to hide out until Alejandro is in custody. Normally I wouldn't run and hide, but since I can't be in my lab or apartment, and me staying at NCIS was keeping you from your fresh start… I know I had to leave. _

_So please, go back to Nebraska and let them transfer you from there. As much as I want to know where you are and how you're doing, it's for the best that I don't. _

_Have a happy life, Gibbs. You deserve it._

_ILY, _

_Abby_

"Where is she?" He growled, balling up the letter and shoving it in his pocket.

"What did it say?" Shannon started to ask, but quieted when Gibbs stalked back over to Tony, towering over his desk.

"I don't know, boss. Honest."

"If I think you're lying to me, I will put you in interrogation," he snarled. "I will find out where she is."

"Boss, honestly… she wouldn't tell me. I think the director knows, but I don't. She knows I would tell you."

Gibbs stared at his senior agent a moment longer before deciding he was telling the truth. He turned to storm up to the Director's Office.

"What as that about?" Kelly asked as soon as her dad was out of earshot.

"Yeah, what do you know?" Ziva leaned forward, unsure of the whole exchange she had just witnessed.

"Yeah, so… basically," Tony scratched his fingers through his hair, "Abby left with Mike. They went into hiding, so that Gibbs could take you guys and Jack and go back into the program." Normally he wouldn't let Abby walk away like that, not without Gibbs knowing where she was, but he was still struggling with the idea that Gibbs had actually left them all. So he decided to put his trust in Mike.

So this was it, Shannon thought. If they didn't leave now, then things between her and Gibbs would never be like they had been before. Not that she was upset at the fact, it wasn't hard to see how the eighteen years apart had changed them, but this was where he made his choice. The first few days they were together in Nebraska, Shannon had wanted things to be exactly the way they had been, but it didn't take long to realize that there was no way they could go back. There was no way they could turn their grown daughter into a child again.

"I want to go home," Kelly's voice tore Shannon from her thoughts.

"I'm sure we can arrange a flight this afternoon."

"No, mom. Not Nebraska. I want to go _home_ home. Dad said he was still living in our old house. I need to get away from NCIS, have some time to think. Dad told me he kept the old stool I used to sit on in the basement while he worked."

"It's not safe."

"We'll take an agent. McGee, if my dad says it's okay, can you take us home? Just for a bit?"

McGee looked up from his computer screen. "Uhh, well… if he says… Boss?"

Everyone turned to look at Gibbs as he came back down the stairs, his jaw set tightly, the anger apparent on his face. "What McGee?"

"Well, uh…"

"Dad, I want to go to your house. McGee said he'd go with if you said it was okay."

"Fine. Don't let them out of your sight." He moved in front of the plasma and turned to snap his fingers at Ziva. "Pull up every safe house within 50 miles."

* * *

Kelly eyed the house from the sidewalk and smiled. It was much smaller than she remembered, but most the details were the same. She remembered more flowers out front, but she also remembered it had been her mother's duty to tend the garden, so she wasn't surprised to find the bare minimum.

"Come on," McGee urged. "We don't know if we're being watched." The house was locked and McGee made them wait just inside the front door while he did a quick sweep of the place. "Okay, all clear." He pulled the curtains to be on the safe side and double checked that the front and back doors were locked.

Kelly and Shannon slowly wandered around the living room, looking at the books on the bookshelves. The room was mostly void of personal items with very few exceptions. There was a photo of Gibbs and his team from what looked like a holiday dinner, Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas. Gibbs had his arm around Abby though his attention was on Ducky. Abby was smiling up at him though, and it was easy to read the emotion in her eyes. Kelly put the photo back on the shelf where she found it and frowned at the old furniture in the room. "Isn't this the same…?"

Shannon nodded. "Most of it."

While Shannon wandered upstairs, Kelly headed for the basement. It had been her father's safe haven, long before he had ever gone to war. Her mother had never liked to spend time down there, though she loved the finished products. Kelly, on the other hand, had loved to watch her father work. She remembered him teaching her about the different tools he used and why he chose them over power tools. He had always let her help whenever she asked, even if it had meant slowing the process for him.

It had been her safe haven too, at one point. When he had been called away for duty she had done her homework down in the dusty basement so she could feel closer to him. She did a slow circle of the basement, opening old coffee cans and guessing the name of the screws. She saw what looked like an old tape deck in the bottom of a dusty drawer and pressed play, curious as to what her father listened to down here. She was stunned to hear her mother's voice, then hers before a short song she had played on the piano. "Oh dad…" It slowly started to sink in just how miserable his life had been while they had been away.

She found a box on a top shelf with her name on it and after opening the first flap decided to leave. It made her heart ache to find a box of her old toys in the basement. She didn't know all the details, but she knew he had been married a few other times, and through those relationships he had held on to every little bit of her that he could and in the back of her mind she wondered if it had been part of the reason he hadn't been able to move on.

She moved on to another section of the basement, only half wondering if she was out of place by digging around her father's house. But the journalist in her won out over any guilt and she kept snooping. She found a photo of Abby on the dusty shelf where he kept a bottle of bourbon. The photo looked to be a few years old and it had a crease going doing the center. It was dusty, but she could tell he'd used a thumb to wipe the dust from her face. Opening the drawer directly below, she found a stack of photos from the past few years. They were of his team, though there was another dark haired woman she didn't recognize. But they were shots from around NCIS, a few from Abby's lab, a few from holiday events. One had a welcome home sign for Tony, one with Abby standing behind a birthday cake and one had a blonde haired woman that caught her attention. _I know this woman,_ she thought to herself. _Who… Maddie!_ At the bottom of the stack of photos there was a note from Abby.

_Boss-man, hope you'll enjoy these as much as I do! – A_

Even if they hadn't been in a relationship, Abby had made sure her father didn't spend his life completely alone. He had people to spend the holidays with, celebrated birthdays with (even if they weren't his own), people to share his life with.

The photos were significantly less dusty than the rest of the items in the drawer and Kelly suspected that he looked at them often. She put everything back in its place and paced a few times back and forth in the basement. There was no way they were all leaving now. Even if her parents were going to keep trying for what they once had, there was no way she could let that happen while Abby wasn't safe. The woman had gone out of her way to reconnect them, and she wasn't going to be the one to pull her father away.

"Mom…" Kelly rushed up the main floor. "Where's my mom?"

McGee pointed up the stairs.

She headed up and found her mom in what had been the master bedroom. "Mom…" She stopped when she got to the door. The room was packed up, but based on the layer of dust covering everything, it had been that way for quite some time. "It's like he doesn't live here."

"There is a blanket and pillow folded up on the sofa," Shannon said sadly. "I don't think he's slept here for a long while."

"He hasn't been happy," Kelly wrapped an arm around her mother's shoulders.

"No," Shannon shook her head. "And he's still not."

"Mom?"

"He spent eighteen years carrying guilt because he lived and we didn't. He wouldn't let himself be happy because he thought our lives were cut short and he wasn't here to protect us. He's had the woman to make him happy in front of him for ten years, but hasn't let himself be happy, punishing himself for our death. Only we've had good lives. And now…"

"You think he's struggling with the fact that he's been… "

"Living with our ghosts while we've had fairly normal lives? Yes. I always wondered, but he's such a… warm and tender man, I was sure he would have moved on."

"It's not your fault, mom. You did what you had to do. I know I didn't make it easy for you at first, but I get what you did." She hugged her mom and then pulled away. "What about my old room?"

"Boxed up. Doesn't look like it's been touched since… "

Kelly headed down the hall. "But he was married three other times, wouldn't they have wanted to do something…" She pushed the door to her old room open. The pastel pink on the walls was the same, though faded. The furniture had been taken apart, but all her belongings were in boxes labeled with her name.

She pulled the door shut again and turned to her mom. "The guest room?" They opened that door to see a basic bed with a night stand. The bed was made and the room was sparse, but had a little warmth to it. "Maybe he sleeps in here?" Kelly went to the closest but frowned at the empty space. "Ugh, he can't keep living this way. Come on, I've seen what I need to see. Let's get back to NCIS so Agent McGee doesn't look so scared about being in his boss' house. I've got work to do."

Shannon just rolled her eyes. "And just what do you think you're going to do?"

"We've got to help dad find Abby."

* * *

Kelly woke early toward the end of the week. She had been having trouble sleeping in the week that Abby was gone. Watching her father so completely at a loss as to what to do was unnerving. The FBI was still hard at work trying to find Alejandro, but with his life at stake, he wasn't able to work with them outside of the office. It was clear that working from his desk, wasn't the way her father worked. It was just after five in the morning when she pulled open the bedroom door of their hotel suite. She assumed she was the only one up, but she found her father sitting at the small table in the kitchenette."Dad?"

Gibbs looked up at his daughter with a weary smile. "You're up early."

"Can't sleep. What's your excuse?" She gave his shoulder a squeeze as she moved past him to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"Just thinking."

"About Abby?"

He nodded.

"She's safe. That guy, Mike… he'll keep her safe, won't he?"

Again, he nodded. "He'll keep her safe."

"But he's not you."

Gibbs looked up sharply, unsure of what she was getting at.

"And unless you can be sure you're keeping her safe, you won't truly believe that she's safe. You don't trust others to keep the ones you love safe."

"I wasn't around to keep you safe, look how that turned out."

Kelly brought her coffee to the small table and sat beside her father, wrapping him in a tight hug. "We were safe. The outcome wasn't ideal and I can't even put into words how much I've missed you, but _you _ didn't fail us. You didn't fail me."

"Not a day went by where I wasn't thinking of you." Gibbs reached out to cup her cheek. "And I did fail you, never should've gone back to the Gulf. I had a family, should have made it a priority."

Kelly shook her head. "You were providing for us. I… I can't pretend that I understand why we couldn't use some secret way to contact you, but… I can't focus on how things could've been better, only that you're in my life now. And that you stay in my life."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Me either."

"We'll have a good life once all of this is over… it will end, I promise."

"But until it's over, we'll stay here and out of the way while you let your team deal with Alejandro-" she held up her hand when he started to speak, "so you can focus on finding Abby."

"She doesn't want to be found."

"Because she thinks that we're leaving as soon as Alejandro is caught. But we're not, are we?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I don't know."

Kelly laughed and gave his hand a squeeze. "I'm not that little girl anymore, give me some credit."

"No, I guess you aren't."

* * *

Abby idly flipped through a magazine, one that she had already read four times. It had been almost a week since they had gone into hiding. Vance had called ahead, and the man living on the floor below them had stocked the apartment before their arrival. He was a retired FBI agent that the FBI kept on the payroll. He was in charge of the upkeep while the apartment was empty, and went on food runs when it was occupied.

"You think he's truly happy now? With his family?"

"Who, probie? Nah, he's probably planning eight ways to skin me alive for taking you on the run," Mike grinned.

"I appreciate you helping me out. I'm sorry to keep you away from your family."

Mike shook his head. "They're on vacation, they aren't missin' me one bit."

"Maybe not, but you're missing them. Sorry."

"Don't be," he smiled. He hated that she was in trouble, but spending a week with the beautiful scientist (and knowing it was likely ruffling Gibbs' feathers) wasn't a bad way to spend some time. She was brilliant and conversation was never dull – even if he didn't understand half of what she said. Mike was sitting by the window, watching as traffic trickled down the side street they were on, a deck of cards spread out in front of him in a game of solitaire. "Uh oh… we got problems." He dropped his cigarette in the ashtray and moved to his feet, his smile fading.

"Alejandro?" She was ready for it all to be over and if it had to come down to a gun fight, then she was ready for it. And hoped Mike was too.

"No, worse…" he shook his head and headed for the door. He reached for the door knob, just as they heard a heavy pounding on the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Abby with an apologetic look. "Gibbs."

* * *

TBC…

And you know he ain't happy…

This was going to be 8 chapters, but because certain other people (WHO NEED TO POST) keep sparking new ideas, I keep going in and adding stuff and changing chapter breaks. So… yeah.


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs stormed past Mike as the door opened, ignoring Mike's greeting of _hi probie_ and stalked toward the small bedroom, grabbing Abby's wrist and pulling her with.

"Gibbs, what-" Abby stumbled along with him. "Gibbs how did you...?" She looked to Mike over her shoulder but he only shrugged. "Gibbs!"

Gibbs dropped his hold on her once they reached the bedroom, and grabbed her small duffle bag tossing onto the bed. He started pulling the things she had brought with her out of the drawers and shoving them back into the bag. "What else is yours to pack?" He looked around, avoiding her confused look.

"Did they catch him? Gibbs?" She reached out to touch his forearm, "Gibbs you're practically shaking. What's going on? You shouldn't be here. You're supposed to be gone." It hadn't been an easy week, but she had almost convinced herself that she would be okay without Gibbs in her life.

Gibbs shoved the items in his hands into the bag and turned away from her to run his hands through his hair. He had struggled for the past several days with everything on his mind, and after a week of trying to find Alejandro at the same time keep Shannon and Kelly safe _and_ worry about Abby's whereabouts, he decided he couldn't take it anymore. He'd stormed Vance's office and was surprised at how relatively easy it had been to get the location out of him the second time around.

He'd ignored everyone's plea for him to wait, to give her space, or at least take another agent with, and had hopped in his car and made the 30 minute drive to the safe house he'd never known about. He might have been tailed, but he wasn't sure. "Every woman I have ever loved has walked away from me." He turned to face her again. "Don't walk away from me."

"Gibbs…"

"For eighteen years I've lived with my grief of losing them. I've had her on a pedestal for years when in reality… she walked away from me too," he said, his voice falling flat.

"Gibbs, she didn't _leave _you, she was protecting your daughter."

"I know," he nodded. "I don't blame her, I'm not angry at her-"

"The situation, Gibbs… you can't do anything about it. What happened, happened."

"_I _should have known_. I_ should have been able to feel that they weren't dead, _I _should have-" He didn't know why this was all coming out now, but in some way he felt as though Abby was the only who would understand.

"Gibbs, you couldn't…" She hesitantly stepped closer, reaching out to him.

He took her hand and pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her. With his nose pressed to her hair, he let out a shuddering sigh. "Please don't walk away from me, Abbs. I love you too much to lose you."

"OK." Her words were muffled by the fabric of his black hoodie, but it was good enough for him. He hugged her tighter, his hand cradling the back of her head, his fingers tangled in her hair. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief he saw a small red dot dancing over his hand. Slowly he looked up and saw Alejandro in the second story window across the street, his gun trained on them.

"No!" He shouted, jerking her sideways moments before the window shattered and a bullet lodged in the wall behind where they were they had been standing. They hit the floor with a thud, and Gibbs looked up in time to see Mike grab his gun and run out the door. "Stay here," he looked down at Abby and then scrambled to his feet.

"No, Gibbs," Abby was quick and grabbed hold of his leg. "You just asked me not to walk away, and now I'm asking you the same thing." Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared up at him, the tone of her voice begging him not to go out there.

He was torn between following Mike and staying behind to make sure she was safe. He took a deep breath and pulled out his cell phone, pressing the speed dial number for Tony. He was in the middle of giving Tony their location when he heard three more shots. He cringed, not knowing if Mike had been the one to shoot, or if he was lying in a pool of his own blood somewhere while Alejandro made his escape. He lowered himself to the floor beside Abby, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and whispered into her hair. "This nightmare will end, I promise."

They heard the sirens of the local police before the red and blue flashing lights colored the walls of the small apartment. They sat silently and Gibbs looked around the place, trying to ignore the fact that Abby had been sharing the small, one bedroom apartment with Franks. He knew he had no reason to be jealous – despite their differences, Mike knew how he felt about Abby and never would have made a move on her, but at the same time, they had been hiding away in the small apartment for just over a week. A week that Gibbs had spent searching all the safe houses he knew Mike knew about.

"I hope Mike is okay," Abby finally broke the silence.

"Me too."

When they heard footsteps outside in the hall, Gibbs reached for his gun.

"Boss?"

Gibbs put his gun away at the sound of Tony's voice. "We're here, DiNozzo." Both he and Abby got to their feet.

"Is Mike okay?" Abby moved around him to hug Tony. "We heard more gun-shots and… he hasn't come back and I…"

"Alejandro caught him in the arm, but it's just a scratch. He double-tapped him twice in the heart, he's gone." He wrapped Abby up in a big hug. "How're you?"

"I'm fine," Abby returned the hug and then ran back to grab her bag. Mike had a few things that Gibbs gathered and they both followed Tony out onto the street. Mike was sitting on the front step to the building across the street and a medic was bandaging up his arm. "Mike!" She rushed forward, taking hold of his outstretched hand. "Are you okay?"

"Sure am, just a scratch." He glanced at his arm where the medic was just finishing up.

"Good." Abby lifted her gaze to where Gibbs and Tony were approaching Alejandro's lifeless body on the ground.

"He's not going to hurt you anymore, darlin'. I tapped him twice to be sure."

She pulled her eyes away and looked back at Mike. "Thank you." She looked up as a car pulled up and Fornell got out. He gave a friendly nod and headed for Gibbs and Tony. She watched as they exchanged a few words and then Tony headed toward her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Tony wrapped an arm around her shoulder and directed her back toward the car. "Boss, I'm gonna take her back, you'll bring Mike?"

Gibbs looked up and nodded. He was standing beside Fornell and together they were looking down at Alejandro's lifeless body.

Abby looked at Gibbs a moment longer and then turned to the car. She wished he we with her, wished he was taking her back. But things weren't that simple, there was no way he could walk away from Shannon and Kelly. "Hey Tony?" She asked once they were both in the car and buckled up.

"Yeah?"

"Think you could drop me off at my place?"

"You don't want to go back to NCIS?"

"I haven't been home in almost two weeks, I just… I haven't been alone in two weeks. I could use some quiet time."

"Uh… I guess. But I don't think you place has been cleaned up since… I mean, they tossed the place looking for anything that would tell them where Gibbs was."

"It's okay," Abby sighed. "I can clean it up, I just…. Please?"

"Yeah, sure… I'll drop you off, I guess it's safe now. But lock up tight, would you?" They drove on in silence until Tony pulled up outside her building. "You want me to walk you up?"

"No," Abby shook her head. She needed to get over the fear of someone waiting for her in her apartment. "I'll be alright, but thank you."

Tony watched her unbuckle her seatbelt and then reach into the backseat to grab her stuff. "You know, he was really miserable when he found out you left without… well, saying goodbye. He threatened to interrogate me if he thought I knew where you were but weren't telling, so… thanks for not telling me."

Abby nodded. "I'll talk to you tomorrow Tony." She leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks for the ride."

Abby was stunned by the scene in her apartment. She stood in the doorway with her keys still in the lock as her eyes roamed over the mess. The sofa had been flipped over, the books had been pushed off the shelves and lay scattered on the floor. Her TV had been yanked off the wall, and the pictures frames lay on shattered glass. And this was only her living room. She was sure to lock the door behind her and carefully she made her way through the kitchen to find a similar scene. Her bathroom was a mess, as was her bedroom and for once she was glad she lived in a small apartment.

She dropped her bag in the bedroom and headed for the kitchen to grab a few large plastic trash bags and her vacuum. First she stripped her bed and put fresh sheets on and then started in one corner, picking up the items that weren't broken and putting them back on shelves and tossing the stuff she couldn't keep. The drawers had been ripped from her armoire and would need Gibbs… someone's expertise to put them back together so they would work. She folded the clothes that she couldn't fit in the small closet and stacked them on the chair in the corner, and then used the vacuum to suck up the tiny shards of glass left on the floor.

She bent down and picked up an old photo frame that had split in two when it had hit the floor. The frame itself wasn't important; she had picked it up at a thrift store and given it a fresh coat of paint, but the photo in it was of her and Gibbs at Thanksgiving the year before. Gibbs looked happy and she was looking up at him, a smile on her face. But when the glass had shattered, a sharp edge had scratch through her face. She knew she could print a new copy, but somehow the significance of it all came crashing down around her and she couldn't hold back the tears.

She took a few steps back and sat on the edge of her bed. She brought her hands up to cover her eyes, the photo still tucked between her fingers.

"That's my favorite photo, too." Gibbs' voice was gentle as he pulled the scratched photo from between her fingers and sat beside her.

He was sitting close, too close for her to avoid, so she slowly leaned against him, letting out a shuddering sigh when his arm wrapped around her. "What are you doing here?"

"A long time ago, I promised to keep you safe. I haven't done a very good job of that."

Abby pulled away too look at him with her red-rimmed eyes. "Seriously? You're going to try and take the blame for something you didn't-"

"If I hadn't shot him in the first place… none of this would've happened. You never would have gone to Mexico. You never would have…" he shook his head. "You would have never been hurt."

"If you hadn't shot him, Gibbs, what about you? What would've happened to you? Don't get me wrong, I'm not… I'm not a fan of killing people, but if you never had killed him, you would have killed yourself. And if you had done that… I might have never known you, or if I did, then… you would've been a miserable asshole. And just think, if you had killed yourself, you wouldn't have had the chance… eighteen years later, to be reconnected with your wife and daughter. So please… don't play the what-if game."

He pulled his arm from her shoulders and cradled his head in his hands. "Abby, I _killed_ someone because of what I thought happened."

"So he didn't kill Shannon and Kelly, he killed three other people… he wasn't a good guy."

Gibbs was silent a few moments as he continued to think it over. "I shouldn't have left, not with everything still hanging over you…." He picked up her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It wasn't fair for me to leave you to deal with the fallout of my decision to leave."

"But you couldn't, Gibbs. They were in the _witness protection program_. You couldn't just announce your plans, have a going away party…" she wiped her eyes. "I found them, Gibbs. I knew what I was getting myself in. I told you to go, and even if you had still been around… Alejandro might've gone after you. You could have died. And even if he still did come after me, it's not like you were here that morning to be able to stop him." She gave a little shrug. "Things happen for a reason. That's life."

"I should have been there Abbs, in the morning. I wanted to be there. I _want_ to be there," he reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, "in the morning. Wake up next to you." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger.

"You're married, Gibbs," Abby whispered. Part of her wanted to turn her head just enough to meet his lips. She'd dreamt for years about kissing him, telling him how she really felt about him. "You should go…"

"I haven't been married since my last divorce, 12 years ago. You know the law."

"Maybe not married by law, but… Gibbs don't do this to me. I can handle you leaving to be with Shannon and Kelly, I will accept that and be happy for you, but I can't handle the relationship we had before. I can't accept the comfort you offer because before I could hold out hope that you still might someday want me, but now I need to face-"

Gibbs covered her lips gently with his, cutting off her words. He waited until he felt the slightest of response before kissing her with more force, trying to put everything he felt into his actions. Everything from gratefulness for finding Shannon and Kelly to sorrow for everything she'd had to go through because of him. There was a little bit of anger mixed in, anger because she'd left with Franks, but mostly relief that she was okay. And relief that she was kissing him back.

"Abbs, I need to protect you and for the longest time I thought that meant that I needed to protect you from myself. But I was wrong, so wrong. I should have made it clear a long time ago how I feel about you."

Abby shook her head. "I feel like I'd be taking you away from them and that's not fair, not when I just found them for you."

"No one is taking anyone away. They'll still be in my life, I'll always _love_ her and I need you to understand that, but-"

"I can't join the program with you, and even if I could… I can't leave it all behind, who will be there for Ducky and the team when you leave again, they need me here, Gibbs. I… I can't."

Gibbs shrugged out of his jacket and toed out of his shoes and then scooted to the center of her bed, propping her pillows against the headboard to lean back against. "We're not going anywhere. With Alejandro dead and the rest of the Reynosa cartel in shambles, it'll be days, maybe even hours before a new cartel moves in to pick up where they left off. They don't care about Pedro. Shannon and Kelly will keep their new last names, but they can come home."

"You're... you're staying here? In D.C.?"

He nodded and reached out to her, smiling when she crawled up next to him and leaned against his side. "I have to."

"What do you mean, you have to?"

"I can't leave without you and you won't leave, so…" he gave a little shrug and smiled down at her when she looked up at him. "Wasn't kidding, Abbs. I love you."

"Kiss me again?"

A smile tugged at his lips and he leaned in to kiss her again, helping her move when she rose up and turned to straddle his lap.

As the kiss came to an end, Abby sat back and let her eyes roam over his face, her fingers tracing along his jaw, across his lips and up to trace over the lines stemming from years of heartbreak, guilt and worry. "Don't know how I was ever going to survive without you."

"Don't have to."

Abby leaned in to press her face to his neck and hugged herself to him tightly. "I know that now, but back then…" She fought hard not to cry, telling herself that there was no reason to cry anymore.

He held her tightly against his chest, running a hand up and down her back as if he could sense her struggle. "You've been through a lot, Abbs. S'ok to let it out." He pressed his nose to her cheek and inhaled deeply. "I got you."

She managed to keep her tears in check, but the steady sound of his breath and the warmth of his hands on her back settled her to the point where she was almost asleep in his arms. "Gibbs?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you stay tonight?" She lifted her head to look at him with tired eyes. "Can you sleep here, with me?"

"I can do that, but you need to eat before you fall asleep."

"Don't want to. I just want to curl up with you and sleep."

"I know, I do too," he cupped her cheek in his hand. "But you've lost weight, you need to eat. I'll order something for us and I need to call Shannon and let her know that I'm with you."

"They staying at your house?"

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "At the hotel for now, and then they will head back to Nebraska for a few months to tie up some loose ends. Then I'm moving them into a condo downtown. I want them off the ground level and a place with good security. They don't need it, but I just want to be sure. Come on," Gibbs shifted her off his lap and then tugged her off the bed. "I don't want you falling asleep before the food arrives." They both headed for the kitchen and while Gibbs ordered food and then called to talk to Shannon, Abby decided to pick up as much as she could in the kitchen. When he was done, he carried out the collection of trash bags, taking them to the dumpster while Abby continued to sort through what she could keep and what wouldn't be worth salvaging.

Gibbs met the delivery man at the door, paid and carried the food to the small table. Most of her dishes had been broken, so they decided to eat from the cartons that the food came in. Halfway through their meal, Gibbs pulled the small silver fox from his pocket and set it on the table. "There was so much I wanted to tell you, to show you… even had a place in town that sold Caf-Pow! I almost bought one out of habit."

Abby smiled, though it didn't quite reach her sleepy eyes. Originally Gibbs had been jealous that she had shared that tiny, one-room apartment with Mike, but judging by her looks, she hadn't slept much over the past week, and he didn't think it was because they were busy having a good time. She was just picking at her food now, but since she had eaten a decent portion, he nodded back toward the hall. "You done? Why don't you go get ready for bed, I'll put the leftovers away."

Abby nodded and moved away from the table. Gibbs was quick to tidy up and then carried his overnight bag to her bedroom. She was just finishing up in the bathroom, so he went in to get ready, giving her the chance to change into her sleepwear.

She was under the covers when he came out of the bathroom in his sweatpants and went to join her under the blankets. As soon as he was next to her, she snuggled in close and wrapped her arm around him. "Mmm, make love to me…" she sighed.

Gibbs chuckled and held her close. "As soon as you're awake enough to remember it." He waited a moment for a response before lifting his head to see that she had already fallen asleep. It was still early, just after seven, but with the way the past few weeks had been, Gibbs had no trouble falling asleep shortly after.

* * *

Gibbs was up long before Abby was and ordered them breakfast from the café across the street. He was almost ready to wake her, it was almost eleven, when he heard her footsteps headed toward the kitchen. He looked up at her, his smile fading at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes. "Abbs… what's wrong?"

"You need to leave."

"Abby?" He stood slowly, trying to decipher what she was upset about. There was no immediate danger, he'd checked all the doors windows the night before as well as when he woke.

"I can't do it Gibbs… I can't take you away from them. Not after all that we both went through to reunite you. I can't," A sob escaped her and she sucked in a ragged breath. "You have to leave, Gibbs. Just _go_."

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "We talked last night Abbs, don't you remember? I love you…"

Abby held up her hands to stop him from coming any closer. The one reason all his other relationships had failed had been because he couldn't move past Shannon. She was convinced that it was the threat on her life that had scared Gibbs and while he thought he might love her now, as soon as the fear faded away he would be longing for Shannon again. "I'm safe now," she hiccupped, "you don't have to worry anymore. You've spent 18 years missing Shannon, dreaming about Shannon… Just go." When he didn't move she resorted to shouting. "GO!"

Knowing he would never get through to her when she was this upset, Gibbs slowly headed toward the door. "I love _you_, Abbs." He only hoped it would stick with her.

As soon as he was gone, Abby swept the breakfast containers off the table and onto the floor as she cried out. Sitting down where Gibbs had been, she rested her head on her folded arms and cried.

* * *

TBC

oops. Sad!Abby is sad...


	9. Chapter 9

Well, I couldn't exactly just be all sunshine and roses and unicorns, now could I?

* * *

Shannon and Kelly hadn't expected Gibbs back at the hotel at all, so when he stormed through to pick up the last of his belongings and muttered something about _the basement_ before leaving again, they knew something had happened. They had been sitting around the small kitchen table with Jack, trading stories and playing cards, and the three sat speechless until the door slammed behind Gibbs again.

"That didn't sound good."

"The basement? No… but he was with Abby, I don't…" Kelly tried to think of what might've happened.

"He's spent all week lookin' for her," Jack said. "He wouldn't push her away, not now."

Kelly shook her head. "No, we talked about it. The three of us," she looked to her mom. "The three of us will always be family, but he's in love with her. I'm okay with that and mom…"

"I'm okay with it too."

Jack leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Then what bit him in the ass?"

Shannon pushed away from the table. "Well, we won't get the story from him, let's go to the source."

Jack nodded. "I think that's a job for you. Why don't Kelly and I stay here," Jack suggested. He and Kelly were never short of things to talk about, and he didn't want Abby to feel overwhelmed by all of them showing up if she was upset.

It made sense, Shannon agreed. "I just need Abby's address so I can grab a cab. I've no idea how to get there."

"Oh! I have it," Kelly jumped up and went to her purse. "I was sort of taking notes this whole time. You know, just in case." She handed her mother a small scrap of paper with an address scribbled on it. "That's a nine, not a four… sorry it's a little hard to read."

Shannon gathered her purse and a jacket and headed down to catch a cab. Surprisingly, Abby's apartment wasn't far from the hotel and it didn't take long – with just one quick stop before she arrived. She headed up to Abby's door and hesitated before knocking.

* * *

Her eyes burned, but she had finally stopped crying and a feeling of numbness had set in. She wanted to call Tony or Ziva or even McGee, but there was nothing that any of them to could do to make her feel better, so she settled for feeling numb and staring at the mess that still cluttered much of her apartment. She would need new dishes and glasses; the sofa was torn, but with a black throw tossed over it, would be useful until she managed to get a new one. The TV was cracked and in nearly every single one of her picture frames, the glass was shattered.

There was a knock at the door – much too gentle to be Gibbs, so she wiped her eyes and headed for the door. She was shocked to see Shannon standing there, but as her mind went to work, she hurried Shannon inside with a quick glance down the hall.

"No one followed me, it's okay. Alejandro is dead, remember?"

Abby shrugged. "Habit, I guess. What are you doing here?"

Shannon glanced around the trashed apartment, noting that it looked even worse than the descriptions she'd heard. She lifted up a mop bucket full of heavy duty trash bags and cleaning supplies. "I figured you could use a little help… gosh, you're going to need to replace so much!"

Abby shrugged. "Gibbs sent you over here?"

"No," she shook her head. "He tore through the hotel suite grabbing the last of his stuff and muttered something about _the basement_ and then was gone. I knew your place wouldn't be cleaned up by now, and Jack and Kelly were so caught up in telling each other stories… I thought I could at least be useful."

Abby softened at the mention of Jack. "He sure does have some stories, I bet he's thrilled to have Kelly and you back in his life."

Shannon nodded. "Kelly had always had him wrapped around her little finger. Gibbs, too. But Jack… that's a whole different story."

"I can imagine."

"We've all been worried about you this past week, with you taking off with Mike like that. But I'm glad you stayed safe. Gibbs tore out of the office so quick last night, but I got more of the story from Mike. Guess Alejandro must have followed Gibbs to where you were hiding, wanted revenge on the both of you as opposed to just Gibbs."

"We'll never know for sure. Mike took care of it."

Shannon laughed. "He seemed pretty proud, but he has a family, doesn't he? He was hoping the first flight he could get last night."

Abby frowned. "I had wanted to say goodbye."

"He said he'd be back, wanted to bring his girls up for a little vacation."

Abby smiled. "He sort of fell into his family, but it's been good for him. And he just adores his little granddaughter. It's funny to see such a rough and tumble old guy turn to must when she tugs on his shirt and asks him to play dolls."

"That was Gibbs… manly man to the bone. Until Kelly was asking him to play barbies or with her strawberry shortcake toys. Never hesitated."

Abby's head dropped as her gaze fell to the floor. "It doesn't surprise me," she whispered.

"So," Shannon glanced around, ready to change the subject. "Where do we start?" She figured a few hours of physical work would tire Abby out and help her work through whatever it was that was keeping her from Gibbs.

"You don't…"

"I know, but I want too. The longer your place looks like this, the more the memories will haunt you. Maybe we should start by just collecting everything that's broken?"

"I… I guess." They started in the kitchen, bagging up the obvious trash and putting everything that could be saved up on the counter.

"Will insurance cover all of this?" Shannon looked at the stacks of garbage bags that were piling up. "I mean, you have to replace so much."

Abby shrugged. "They'll pay for some, I'm sure." Abby glanced around. Most of what was broken wasn't worth much. Little bits and pieces she had picked up from various second hand shops over the years. She liked her collection of miss-matched things, but much of it didn't hold any emotional value, and for that she was grateful. There was an interesting collection of old science trinkets on a shelf in the kitchen that remained intact. Many of the items had come from Gibbs over the years – various Christmas and birthday gifts. Shannon followed her gaze, "what is that stuff?"

"Antique science stuff," she smiled. "In case you didn't notice, I don't tend to collect common things."

"Where did you find all this stuff?"

Abby thought for a moment, her smile fading. "I didn't, Gibbs did." She squared her shoulders and pointed to some small figures on the windowsill. "And those are from Tony," she tried to pull the attention away from the topic of Gibbs.

"Tony sure is a character, isn't he?"

Abby nodded. "Don't let his boyish side fool you into thinking he's just an overgrown kid. He can get pretty serious."

"Oh, I know. He was all business the first few days after they found you in the old building."

"I hope he wasn't too harsh on you, none of what happened was your fault."

"No, he wasn't. But he was very protective of you."

"We're family."

Eventually they moved to the living room and Shannon shook her head. "It's like they tried to destroy as much as possible."

"I know. But I think everything can be replaced. All my photos I still have digital copies of; those are what mean the most." Even her old family photos she had scanned before hanging or putting them on her bookcase.

Shannon started to collect all the pictures from the walls and the ones that had been knocked from the bookcase. "I'll toss all the glass, but the frames that are broken, I bet Gibbs could fix them, shall I set them aside?"

"No, just throw them all away. He won't have time."

"He can fix things, you know. And if all he's doing is sulking in the basement, he'll have plenty of time, won't he?"

Abby only shrugged.

"Why is he pouting in the basement?"

Abby sat on the couch with a sigh. "I asked him to leave."

Shannon set the stack of broken picture frames on the coffee table and sat beside Abby a stack of photos that she had collected from the frames in her hands. "Why?"

"Every relationship he's ever had, they've all failed because he's only ever wanted you back. And now you are," she shrugged.

"I… things aren't the same between us and while we both wanted what we had… we can't go back. Our daughter isn't a little girl anymore and things are different. "

"But still… you're still _you_."

"But not the _me_ he remembers… I took his daughter away from him. I kept her away. He says he understands, but there will always be that between us."

"Why didn't you come back? Or contact him?"

Shannon thought for a moment. "At first things were such a mess, and I was so scared. I wanted to wait six months, and then quietly contact him, but by the time six months rolled around, I wasn't sure if I could get to him and as I kept pushing the date back, it was harder and harder. Six months became a year, then two years and so on. Then I fell in love again and remarried and figured it was for the best that we just live our lives. It was never to hurt him, and if I had to do it all over again, I would have been on the phone with him the next day. I never expected it to so completely ruin his life."

"He's been miserable for 18 years…"

"I know! I never… I knew it would hurt, I knew that. But he was so strong and loving, I was certain he would remarry and have more kids. I didn't expect him to just _replace_ Kelly and I, but… I thought he would love again, be happy…"

"He wasn't."

Shannon looked down at the stack of photos in her hand. Most were of the team, Gibbs usually with his arm around Abby, smiling at her or because of her. There was one of just the two of them at some sort of building site. Abby was dressed the part, but it's clear that Gibbs was doing most of the work. Another was of Abby and the nuns, dressed in their 60's inspired bowling gear. Gibbs was in the background, a smile on his face as he looked at Abby holding a giant trophy. "Not until you."

"He's hardly had the chance to re-know you. The two weeks you had before… before this… that's not enough time to catch up on 18 years. And if I let myself love him and then he decides he needs you in his bed…"

"Oh," Shannon set the photos down and wrapped her arm around Abby, pulling her into a hug. "Kelly and I are moving back to D.C. and want to be in his life, but he and I… we tried, once. Didn't get past a couple of kisses. We're friends, family even. Not lovers. Not anymore."

"But how could you _not_ want him?"

"He's not the man I married, not anymore. Those 18 years have changed us, changed him. What I did… keeping his daughter from him changed him so completely. It's hard to see sometimes, the pain he still carries with him. And also, he's yours now. He spent so much time staring at that little fox you gave him, I just know he was thinking about you. He's so miserable again; don't make the same mistake I did by keeping him away. You've already risked your life and your career for him…"

"Not as hard as risking your heart." Abby returned the hug and then pulled away to wipe at her eyes.

"It's not a risk when he wants you back. He'd hurt himself before he hurt you."

"But what if he changes his mind, I don't want him trying to stick it out with me, if he-"

Shannon laughed. "When have you ever known him to change his mind? Would it help if I said that _I_ wasn't interested… I love him, always will. And I hope to spend the holidays with him and Jack and you… and whoever else from the team he usually spends the holidays with. And then I plan to go home and crawl into my own bed. Alone." She was quiet a moment. "Though that FBI agent Tobias isn't too bad on the eyes."

When Abby's eyes went wide, Shannon shook her head and laughed. "I was teasing. I heard the story of Tobias and Diane."

Abby couldn't suppress a snort of laughter at the idea. She could clearly imagine the look on Gibbs' face if Fornell showed up with Shannon on his arm.

Shannon reached for a box of tissues that was on the floor and handed it to Abby. "So please..? The basement is calling."

Abby took the tissue and blew her nose and then used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. "Is he angry?"

"No," Shannon shook her head. "He's hurt and I think the stress of the past few weeks is finally starting to wear him down."

"He hasn't had any basement time lately."

Shannon smiled. "No… not since before he came to Nebraska."

"Maybe I should give him some time then…"

"No, I think he'd rather hear from you than have quiet time to brood about how he's ruined everything."

Abby sighed. "I guess you're right."

* * *

TBC…

Awww, a happy cliff. Or is it?


	10. Chapter 10

I tried to reply to reviews of the previous chapter but ff was being fickle and the reply links wouldn't load. So just know that I appreciate every kind word you've said

THE END! I was going to be mean and split this into two, but thought… wtf, let's put people out of their misery. I've done enough with cliffs for this fic, yes?

Enjoy

* * *

She wasn't surprised to see Ducky's car in front of Gibbs house. Part of her wanted to give the two men time to talk, but she knew that Ducky was likely giving Gibbs and earful for leaving without an explanation and leaving Abby to deal with the team. Ducky had every right to be upset, but she was the one that found them, she's the one that sent him on his way, she was the one that needed to take the brunt of Ducky's unhappiness. She parked and hurried up the front step and let herself inside. She could hear the men talking in the basement so she skipped the squeaky floorboard and carefully opened the door.

"Did you ever stop to think of what it would do to her? To carry the secret of where you were, who you are with? Did you think of her at all?" Ducky's voice carried.

"I…"

"No!" She heard rustling and then the crash of a bottle against the wall. "No, you don't get to lose yourself in the bottle because you feel sorry for yourself. She's ruined her life to give yours back to you."

"I know, I-"

"Ducky," Abby interrupted and moved halfway down the staircase. "I found them, I was the one to contact the Department of Justice, and I made his alias. He didn't just dump all of this on me," it wasn't often she was Ducky visibly upset. "I'm sorry; I hated to lie to you."

"Abigail…" Ducky turned to her and took a step toward the stairs.

Abby looked at Gibbs as she continued down the staircase, trying to read something, anything on his face. But as usual, he was unreadable.

"Really Ducky, you have every right to be upset, but your anger is misdirected."

"You shouldn't have had to carry that secret alone."

"I probably shouldn't have done a lot of things, but I don't regret it. He's got his girls back and I would go through everything all over again if need be." She accepted Ducky's hug, and hugged him back. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not angry," he sighed. "Just hurt that I was left out."

"Not because you aren't trusted, Ducky. If Alejandro had come after you because he thought you knew where he was… I'd never forgive myself if it had been you instead of me. I'm a lot stronger than you guys like to give me credit for."

"Why didn't he come after me? How did he know that you knew where he was?" Ducky glanced back at Gibbs and then faced Abby again.

Abby took a deep breath – it didn't need to be a secret anymore. "He didn't know, but he suspected. I tampered with the evidence in his case, he was angry with me for that."

"Why would you…" Ducky's eyes went wide. They were people of science; always let the evidence do the talking.

"Because it was the man that was suspected of killing Shannon and Kelly. The evidence-"

"I killed him, Duck. She tampered with the evidence to protect me."

"She could have lost her career!"

Abby gripped his shoulders and turned him back toward her. "He didn't ask me to do it. He didn't know until it was already done, please Ducky…" she hugged him tightly. "Please forgive me."

"Forgive you, Abigail…" Ducky sighed. "There is nothing to forgive, I just… I just need some time to process." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and stepped around her to head up the stairs. He turned to look at Gibbs. "I assume I'll see you before you go anywhere?" Without giving Gibbs the chance to answer, Ducky was gone.

Neither said anything as they listened to Ducky's footsteps overhead, the sound of the front door opening and closing and finally his morgan pulling away from the curb. She didn't know what to say or what to do, so she did what she always need when she needed comfort, she moved forward and pressed her face to his chest, letting out a ragged sigh when he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"Abbs?" He pressed his nose to her hair and inhaled deeply.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't want to lose you." She felt tears welling up in her eyes and hid her face against his chest, muffling the last of her words.

Gibbs cradled her against him, one hand cupping the back of her head and the other rubbing slowly up and down her back. "You haven't lost me, I'm right here. Not going anywhere."

Abby pulled back to look at him with watery eyes. "After everything you've done for me, after everything you said, I yelled at you, made you leave. I never should have..."

Gibbs smiled and used his thumb to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "It'd take much more than that for me to walk away. If I gave up on relationships as soon as I was yelled at, I'd never have been married, not even to Shannon," he half joked.

"Don't…" she wasn't in the mood to be teased.

"Abby…" his features softened, "I'm not trying to upset you. You didn't believe how much I love you, and that hurt, but you think I would give up that easy? I didn't fight hard enough when Shannon and Kelly went away. I sure as hell wasn't going to give up without a fight now. It's you, Abbs. I want _you._"

"I love you, Gibbs." She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. "I really, really do."

Gibbs smiled against her lips and returned the kiss, backing her up until she was resting back against the boat. He kissed his way down her neck and startled to worry the skin over the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

"Gibbs!" she pushed him back. "Don't you dare leave a visible mark."

"Why?" He lifted his head. "Everyone will know about us." There was no way this would stay a secret from his team.

"I… I know… but it doesn't mean we have to rub it in their faces."

He knew his team wouldn't care - they would only smirk and gossip when he wasn't around, so he figured that she must mean Shannon and Kelly. He didn't think they would care either, but fair enough. He didn't want to put her in an awkward position. He kissed his way back up her neck and along her jaw and nipped at her chin before kissing her lips again. He kissed her until she was mostly a boneless heap against the boat, her arms wrapped around his waist, holding him against her.

Her lips were swollen when he eventually pulled away, and it made him reach out and trace his finger across her lips with a satisfied look on his face. He glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it was past seven in the evening. "We should head up, order some food." He had emptied his kitchen before leaving the first time.

Abby led the way and curled up on the sofa while Gibbs ordered them a pizza. He found a case of beer in the garage and pulled out a couple bottles and put them on the coffee table.

By the time dinner was done, Abby was sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, her toes tucked under Gibbs' thighs. She sat sipping her beer, her eyes studying Gibbs' face as he paid attention to the evening news.

"You're staring."

"Just remembering."

"Remembering?"

"Yeah, just in case…"

"I'm not going anywhere, neither are you."

"I know, but… just in case."

Gibbs pushed his beer bottle onto the coffee table and held out his arm in an open invitation. Abby set her beer beside his and eagerly moved against his side, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "Can I stay tonight?" she asked.

Instead of answering, Gibbs pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, knowing she would understand he was saying yes.

"Does… does Jack know?" She thought of how to word her question. "Doesn't he expect you and Shannon to… to be a family?"

"We are still family, but he considers you family, too." He hugged her tighter. "When that agent went to his shop to invite him to be in the program with us, he turned the opportunity down. He was going to stay until you were safe. Shannon talked to you, didn't she?"

Abby nodded. "How did you know?"

"Because you asked what Jack thought, not her. She explained that we'll always be family, but that's it, right? There is nothing more?"

"Yeah, we talked. What about Kelly?"

"She's not my little girl anymore, she's all grown up. She understands."

"She wants you to be happy."

Gibbs was silent for a while, running his fingers through her hair, enjoying the weight of her warm body against his, but eventually his curiosity won out. "How long were you going to stay hiding with Mike?"

"I don't know, a few weeks? Then I figured you'd be long gone and I could go back, work with the team to draw him out," she shrugged. "Hadn't really planned it out, we just grabbed our stuff and left."

Gibbs shook his head, and tried to quell the anger he felt bubbling up. Out of everyone, Mike knew that taking Abby away was a sure way to keep him from leaving, and it suddenly dawned on him that Mike had likely agreed to the idea to set Gibbs' blood boiling. It had only confirmed that he needed to be with Abby, and by forcing those feelings to the surface he could make a sure decision rather than dancing around it while they were both around. "Sneaky bastard."

"What?"

He let out a deep breath and hugged her closer. "Did Mike hesitate at all when you asked him to go away?"

"No," Abby shook her head, "he seemed to think it was a good idea."

"Thought so."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Don't be angry at him, it was my idea."

"I'm not… angry… I was, but I'm not now. He did what he thought was necessary." Gibbs started to sit up, shifting her to the side. "Come on, let's get to bed. It's been a long day."

Abby followed him upstairs and took the over-sized shirt he handed her. She dug out an extra toothbrush and then headed to his bed and flipped through a woodworking catalog while she waited for him.

"See anything in there you like?" He teased.

"Yeah, you should build one of these!" She pointed to a huge tv and media center. "It'd look fantastic next to the fire place," she teased back.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and made a show of tugging the catalog from her fingers and turning off the lights. They moved under the covers and Gibbs tugged her in close. "It's my house, so no telling me to leave in the morning, okay?"

Abby laughed and snuggled in close. "I'll try to remember. And I'll try not to wake in a panic."

"I'll be right here if you do."

* * *

Abby woke with her back flush against Gibbs' firm chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her middle and his face pressed to the back of her neck. "We slept in," she said quietly after a quick glance to the clock.

"Mmm," Gibbs pressed a series of soft kisses to her skin. "S'ok. Don't want to leave the bed. Just want to stay here, with you." He pushed his leg over hers and half covered her body with his own. "This is good," he mumbled.

"You're comfy, Gibbs, but I have to pee." Abby worked herself free of his grasp then headed to the bathroom. "Don't go anywhere, I'll just be a moment." She returned a few minutes later, but rather than go back to the side of the bed she had been on, she went to the side Gibbs was on, and sat on the edge. "You're sure? You're sure that this is what you want, that I'm _who_ you want?"

"The whole week you were off with Franks, I kept tellin' myself that you never would've left if you knew how I felt about you. We've been through a lot together, Abbs. I should've been with you at the safe house." Gibbs sat up and leaned back against the headboard.

Abby picked up his hand and laced her fingers with his. "I just want you to be happy, you've had a rough time," she glared at him when he started to protest, "and if you need some time without the threat of Alejandro to really think things through, you can."

"I know what I want," he let go of her hand so he could cup her face in his hands. "She's tall, fair skin, black hair. More tattoos than I've seen on most sailors, and all her babies need an electrical outlet to come to life."

Abby smiled as she rolled her eyes. "That last little bit makes me sound kind of creepy."

"Doesn't matter," he said, leaning forward and hesitating when he was an inch from her lips. "I like your creepy."

Abby quieted her laugh by leaning forward, touching her lips to his. Their kiss was slow and exploratory and when they finally parted for air, Abby wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck.

"Abbs?" He spoke softly against her ear. "You okay?"

"Perfect," she pulled back and looked at him, noticing that the stress of the past few weeks seemed to have washed away overnight. She traced her fingers over his face and gasped when he nipped at her fingertips, startling her. "Gibbs!"

"What can I do, what can I say so that you don't wake up every morning wondering if I've made a mistake?"

"I believe you, I just…"

"No," he shook his head. "You don't believe me if you have to ask."

Abby thought for a moment. "It'll get easier, I promise. I… we'll spend time around Shannon, I'll believe it, I promise."

"Hey, I'm not upset," he pulled her forward into his arms. "I'll remind you every day that it's you I want. I just don't want you to worry about something when there is no point."

* * *

Shannon, Kelly and his father all arrived at Abby's apartment within 20 minutes of Gibbs and Abby. They brought food and cleaning supplies and Shannon had suggested that once things were cleaned up and sorted, she and Kelly take Abby out to replace broken picture frames, dishes any anything else that had been ruined.

Gibbs draped an arm around Kelly's shoulder as they stood side by side in Abby's apartment.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Kelly nodded toward Abby. "I mean, physically her bruises have faded, but mentally, it can't be easy to get through everything that happened to her, even staying in this apartment can't be easy."

"I know," Gibbs pressed a kiss to the side of his daughters head. "But she's the most stubborn, willful, and strong person that I know. I think she'll be okay."

"More stubborn than you?"

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "More so than me."

"And you'll look out for her, like the rest of us will?"

"Mmhmm." Gibbs looked around at everyone in her apartment, everyone sorting through broken picture frames, stacking books and organizing her DVDs. He let his gaze settle on Shannon as she sat beside Abby, a photo album in her hands. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but Abby looked up at the other woman with a smile and opened the album. The first photo was one of the team. It was a group shot taken at a habitat for humanity build site where they had all agreed to help out. They were all smiles despite a full day of hard physical work, and Gibbs remembered the sense of pride and accomplishment they had all felt at the end of the day. "You know," he said. "I think we're all going to be okay."

"We have a lot to catch up on," Kelly said as she wrapped her arms around her father. "I know it'll be a fun months until I'm back out here for good, but once I am. Maybe we could have a few father-daughter date nights? Just the two of us, grab dinner and talk? I mean, if you don't think Abby will mind?"

"She won't mind, and I love that idea." He nodded over to where Abby and Jack were telling Shannon about the last time Jack had been in D.C. It had been Christmas time and Abby had taken him to bowling practice with the nuns. They had all swooped in to keep him entertained, and Jack had talked for weeks about how wonderful they were. "Your mom seems to enjoy her company."

Kelly nodded. "Last night she said she was glad she could spend some time with her yesterday. I guess they talked a lot. She said Abby is perfect for you and she can't wait to know her better once we move out here."

"Good."

"Kelly!" Shannon waved her over. "Come look at this photo. Abby bowls with nuns and she wears a poodle skirt." She pointed to the photo in the album as Kelly approached.

"Please tell me dad bowls too and wears tight jeans a white tee with his hair slicked back!"

Abby grinned at the idea. "I've been working on him, but no such luck. Maybe you can help."

Gibbs' smile faded at the idea of both Kelly and Abby trying to talk him into something. It wasn't often he could say no to Abby, and he didn't think he'd last more than five minutes if Kelly was asking.

"Well son, I can't say I ever imagined everything turning out the way it has, but I can't complain."

Gibbs grinned at his father.

"You're such a lucky man, you know that?"

"Oh, I know."

"You take good care of 'em when I'm not around, you hear? And anything starts to get tough, ya'll come on up to Stillwater, okay?"

"Things won't get tough, but we'll still come and visit."

"Good," Jack nodded.

* * *

Gibbs felt nerves fluttering through his stomach as he stood at the departures gate as Shannon and Kelly were about to leave. They'd already decided on two condos in the same building for when they came back – Kelly was ready to be on her own, but Gibbs' liked the idea of having them close-by, and he'd searched deep into the backgrounds of everyone that lived in the building, as well as the doorman.

Abby stood back so they could say their goodbyes. Even though they were only going to be gone for two-three months, she knew it wouldn't be easy for Gibbs to watch them leave. She knew he would never admit to it, but she sore she saw tears welling up in his eyes as he hugged Kelly one last time.

"Bye Abby!" Kelly came over and wrapped her in a hug. "Take care of my dad while we're gone, and don't let him do anything crazy like do a background search on everyone living on our block."

"Oh…" Abby glanced at Gibbs. "Might be a little late for that…"

"Dad!"

"I was only kidding," Abby laughed. "Mostly."

Shannon stepped up and wrapped her in a hug. "We've got the movers driving the big truck, but we're each planning on driving our cars out. Gibbs has said he'll flight out and help, maybe you could as well? I'm sure Kelly will want him to drive with her. Thought you could maybe keep me company?"

"I would like that," Abby smiled big. "But I'll have to ask my boss for the time off. He's a stickler about giving time off."

Shannon glanced back at Gibbs with a raised brow. "I think he'll be lenient this time around."

"You'd better get going, don't want to miss the flight." Gibbs stepped up and wrapped an arm around Abby's shoulders. "Call once you've made it home."

"Of course."

With a wave Shannon and Kelly were off.

* * *

Gibbs had been tense much of the day and well into the afternoon until his cellphone started ringing and Kelly's name flashed on the screen. They had been curled up on his couch half-watching the news and making out for the past hour, but he couldn't completely relax until he knew they were safe. When Abby saw Kelly's name on the screen, she started to get up, to give him some privacy, but he caught her wrist and shook his head. He talked to her for a few minutes before hanging up and slipping his phone back into his pocket. "C'mere," he tugged her in close, "you don't have to leave the room every time either of them call."

"Well, I wasn't sure..."

"Strange to hear her voice over the phone, but now that I know they're home safe, I can relax." He scooted down on the couch and pulled Abby on top of him. "Relax with me."

Abby laughed as he tugged her down. "I had big plans to wash my hair, or paint my nails, but I suppose I could _relax_ too."

"Mmm," Gibbs tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her in for a kiss, his eyes falling shut at the close contact.

Abby cupped his face in her hands as she kissed him, eventually pulling away from his lips to kiss out along his jaw and down the side of his neck before pressing her face to his warm skin. "Let's take this upstairs, okay?"

"You're sure?" he nuzzled gently against her cheek. "In the few days they had been together, they hadn't taken their relationship further. It was partly because they were both so mentally exhausted from the past several weeks. They climbed into bed and were almost asleep before they had the chance to curl up together. And then Gibbs figured that Abby still needed some reassurance that she was his. They spent the majority of the day with Shannon and Kelly, so he didn't want to rush her into bed right after, not wanting her to think that she had to please him to keep him interested.

"Come on…" She got up and tugged him to his feet. They had already locked up, so all they had to do was switch off a few lights and then head upstairs. She hesitated in the doorway of his bedroom and Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled against her neck.

"Let me take care of you?" he asked.

"Let me guess, you're not the type to just lie back and enjoy?"

Gibbs chuckled and kissed her shoulder. "Not with you, not tonight. Want to take care of you."

"But some time? You'll let me have my way with you?"

"Mmm, I'm not saying you can't touch me, but tonight all my focus is on you." He worked his hands under her shirt and slid them up her sides, bringing her shirt up in the process.

Abby felt giddy as more and more of her skin was revealed to him. Once her shirt was off, his hands spread over her stomach to pull her back against him, her head resting back on his shoulder. He nibbled along her neck and shoulder before dropping his hands to the waistband of the black pants she was wearing. He worked them down over her hips and then nudged her forward toward the bed. She moved eagerly toward the center of the bed and with one swift motion had her bra off.

Gibbs kicked his shoes off to join her, confusion clouding his face when she held up a hand to keep him from coming too close.

"You need to lose some clothes, Gibbs. Only fair," her eyes caught on his black hoodie resting over the arm of a chair situated in the corner. "Or put that on?"

He glanced over his shoulder and looked back at her with a raised brow. "You want me to put more clothes on?"

Abby laughed, her confidence betraying the fact that she was almost completely naked. "You look ridiculously attractive in that hoodie, Gibbs."

He rolled his eyes and lifted his shirt over his head. If any other woman had told him to put clothes on, he'd have been offended, but Abby had her quirks and he had no doubt they would one day be in bed where he would be wearing that sweatshirt at her request.

Abby fell back against the pillows and watched as Gibbs' undressed, his eyes focused on her body. He was down to his boxers when he crawled forward again.

Abby was about to reach out to him when she was distracted. The small silver fox she had given him was sitting on his nightstand. "You still have that thing?"

Gibbs followed her gaze and smiled. "Mmhmm, reminds me of you." Gibbs reached out and picked up, moving to straddle Abby's hips. He placed the cool metal to her skin, just above her belly button and smiled when it made her gasp. "A little chilly?"

Abby nodded and watched as he slowly trialed it up between her breasts and then over to circle around her nipple. The cold metal caused her nipples to peak and she squirmed below him. "I'm pretty sure this isn't what I bought it for," she gasped.

"Isn't it?" Gibbs leaned forward to press his tongue over her nipple, sending a wave of warmth through her. She cupped her hand over the back of his head to hold him to her chest while at the same time lifting her head to press a gentle kiss to his forehead.

Putting the small fox back on the nightstand, Gibbs met her kiss with more force and stretched himself out over her, pressing her firmly into the mattress. Her body was warm and welcoming, and Gibbs suddenly felt like he couldn't get close enough. He couldn't remember the last time another body had him reacting so strongly, but he could barely hold back from ripping her underwear off, shedding his and pushing into her like it was the only way to stay alive. He figured she must've sensed his desperation, because soon she was wriggling free of her underwear, while maintaining as much contact as possible. She worked them onto their sides, and broke away from his kiss to catch her breath. She placed hot, open-mouth kisses across his chest and along his neck while he worked his boxers off. Before he could do anything, she kissed him again and grabbed his hand, bringing it to between her thighs. She used her fingers to press his to her clit and then reached for his straining erection, tugging gently on his balls before working her hand up his length.

He knew he found the right speed against her clit when her hand faltered and her body tensed. "Come on, Abbs… let it go."

She almost let him bring her over the edge, but at the last minute she pushed his hand away and pushed him to his back. "Not without you." She straddled him, steadying herself with her hands on his chest as he guided himself to her opening. She froze the minute he was inside her, closing her eyes and enjoying the fact that it had finally happened - he was everything and nothing like she had dreamed about. It wasn't until he bumped his hips up against hers that she was pulled out of her thoughts and pushed down against him.

"Gibbs…" she let out a happy sigh and fell forward to meet him for a kiss. For a few minutes she was lost in the sensation and nearly brought herself to release before slowing again. She let him roll her onto her back and allowed him to take control, wrapping her legs around him as he thrust into her gently, slowly building his speed.

It became a game for them, trying to bring the other to release before letting themselves go. It wasn't until Abby nipped at his neck and moaned his name that Gibbs finally couldn't hold it any longer and groaned her name through his release. The sound of desperation in his voice was enough to put her over the edge and she followed him to completion moments later.

They were both covered in sweat when Gibbs pulled away long enough to pull the blankets up over them, but he knew they would cool quickly. Her skin was hot when he curled around her under the blankets and nibbled at her neck. "Meant to give you multiple orgasms tonight," he said honestly. He hadn't been joking when he said he wanted to take care of her.

"Mm, too sleepy for more," Abby sighed. "But we can do this again tomorrow morning, and night and maybe during our lunch break. We're back at work tomorrow, right?"

"You're gonna kill me with sex, aren't you?" He hugged her tight and nipped her ear lobe.

"Mm, I might," she pondered. "But I've got a few _other_ things to try first."

"Oh yeah?" he questioned.

Abby turned in his arms and pressed a leg between his. "For starters, I wasn't kidding about that hoodie…"

Gibbs moved forward and covered half her body with his. "One thing at a time, Abbs. Still haven't had a taste of you yet."

"Well, we've got plenty of time."

* * *

The End

Possible epilogue taking place in a few months? I dunno. Shout out if you've got any suggestions!

And I love you all for your reviews and comments and suggestions. Everyone here is so absolutely lovely – now if everyone would go hound gosgirl and gibbsredhoodie because I am impatient and they make me wait SO LONG for updates. Makes for a cranky, sad and pathetic author. *nodnod*


End file.
